Sikhote-Alin
Seen to fall in 1947 in Russia · 23 tonnes recovered · Iron, IIAB
Sikhote-Alin recovered more mass than any other of the 1,063 observed falls in NASA’s Meteorite Landings dataset (records to 2013). It is one of 48 iron meteorites among the observed falls.
- Group
- Iron meteorites
- Recorded position
- 46.160° N, 134.653° E
The map is centred on Sikhote-Alin. Rings every 250 km; numbers match the table below.
Nearest recorded falls
The closest recorded fall to Sikhote-Alin is Sungach, 185 km to the south-west. Within 250 km lies one other recorded fall.
| # | Fall | Year | Class | Recovered | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sungach | 1935 | H5 | 637 g | 185 km south-west |
| 2 | Boguslavka | 1916 | Iron, IIAB | 256 kg | 296 km south-west |
| 3 | Numakai | 1925 | H4 | 363 g | 650 km south-east |
| 4 | Lanxi | 1986 | L6 | 1.3 kg | 651 km west |
| 5 | Zhaodong | 1984 | L4 | 42 kg | 676 km west |
| 6 | Quija | 1990 | H | 17 kg | 687 km west |
What Iron, IIAB means
Iron, IIAB is the label for an iron meteorite of chemical group IIAB, defined by its nickel and trace-element content. The nearest other Iron, IIAB fall is Boguslavka in Russia, 296 km away. In date order among Iron, IIAB falls, the one before Sikhote-Alin is Boguslavka (1916, Russia) and the one after is Raghunathpura (1986, India).
Sikhote-Alin in Russia’s record
In date order Sikhote-Alin is number 37 of the 48 falls recorded in Russia, which run from 1805 to 2013. The fall recorded before Sikhote-Alin in Russia is Krasnyi Klyuch (1946); the next is Kunashak (1949).
The 1940s
Sikhote-Alin is one of 55 falls dated to the 1940s. Elsewhere, the record lists five other falls in 1947, among them Reliegos in Spain, Eagle in the United States, Långhalsen in Sweden.