Murchison
Seen to fall in 1969 in Australia · 100 kg recovered · CM2
Murchison is the heaviest of the 15 CM2 falls. It is one of 44 carbonaceous chondrites among the observed falls.
- Recorded position
- 36.617° S, 145.200° E
The map is centred on Murchison. Rings every 500 km; numbers match the table below.
Nearest recorded falls
The closest recorded fall to Murchison is Forest Vale, 393 km to the north-east. No other fall in the record lies within 250 km of Murchison.
| # | Fall | Year | Class | Recovered | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forest Vale | 1942 | H4 | 26 kg | 393 km north-east |
| 2 | Moorleah | 1930 | L6 | 8.9 kg | 486 km south |
| 3 | Karoonda | 1930 | CK4 | 42 kg | 506 km west |
| 4 | Narellan | 1928 | L6 | 368 g | 574 km north-east |
| 5 | Mount Browne | 1902 | H6 | 11 kg | 825 km north-west |
| 6 | Dunbogan | 1999 | L6 | 30 g | 892 km north-east |
What CM2 means
CM2 is the label for a carbonaceous chondrite of the CM (Mighei type) group, petrologic type 2, strongly water-altered. The nearest other CM2 fall is Banten in Indonesia, 5,209 km away. In date order among CM2 falls, the one before Murchison is Murray (1950, the United States) and the one after is Sayama (1986, Japan).
Murchison in Australia’s record
In date order Murchison is number 12 of the 15 falls recorded in Australia, which run from 1879 to 2007. By recovered mass Murchison comes fourth of 15 there. The fall recorded before Murchison in Australia is Wiluna (1967); the next is Binningup (1984).
The 1960s
Murchison is one of 57 falls dated to the 1960s. Elsewhere, the record lists five other falls in 1969, among them Allende in Mexico, Bovedy in the United Kingdom, Patora in India.