Flensburg, Germany
3 min read
September 12, 2019 12:49:48 UTC – A large meteor came down over Europe and was detected by CNEOS as a half-kiloton event! There were clouds in the area at the time of the fall, so the local camera data was difficult to process precisely. Luckily CNEOS provided a trajectory, which ended up being fairly accurate. This event was definitely worth searching, because a meteorite was found the day after it happened!
| Event Source(s): | CNEOS AMS Event 4385-2019 Arbeitskreis Meteore e.V. Forum MetBull |
| Date/Time: | 09/12/2019 12:49:48 UTC |
| Location: | Flensburg, Germany |
| Reference Coordinates: | 54.51°N 9.18°E Google Map |
| Reference Altitude | 42 km above sea level |
| Energy / Mass Estimate: | 0.48kt / 12000kg |
| Entry Speed: | 20.0 km/s |
| Bearing: | 8.30° N |
| Slope: | 65.46° from vertical |
Event Videos
The videos shown here were used to calculate the trajectory in the StrewnLAB bulletin, attached below.
Security camera at a shipbuilding company near Marknesse, Netherlands
Meteorite Found!
We reported on September 20th, 2019, there was a Rock Found Near Flensburg…, but details of the find were not released until later on the German forum, Arbeitskreis Meteore e.V. that there was a ~25 gram fragment located near Flensburg Airport the day after the event!
Photo © Carsten Jonas 
Photo © Carsten Jonas
Read this initial reportt from Andreas Moeller, on AKM e.V. Forum:
As some of you have certainly heard, Sirko [Molau] gave a talk at the IMC in Bollmannsruhe, about the fireball over the North Sea and also reported on a possible find. The following happened: One day after the event, someone from Flensburg reported on the fireball reporting form with a photo of a meteorite he allegedly found. Afterwards, AKM contacted this person and examined the meteorite. I would like to mention here that the person has requested absolute discretion and the exact location of the meteorite is kept secret. For this reason, the Kong-Arrildshoj Park, in the western part of Flensburg is indicated as the find location. At this point, I would like to give a big thank you to Dieter Heinlein, who has worked hard to ensure that the find is scientifically studied. Maybe Dieter will write a few more details. Currently it seems to be a very light (~ 2g / ccm) CC [Carbonaceous Chondrite] with a striking rusty color. Here are two photos from Carsten [Jonas].
As reported by Andreas Moeller, on AKM e.V. Forum, a German forum on atmospheric phenomenon [Translated from German]
You can also read more about the find on Karmaka Meteorites website.
Classification
This meteorite was classified as “C1-ung”, an ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite of petrologic type 1. This is an extremely rare type! In fact, there are only two other C1 chondrites in the Meteoritical Society database, one from Antarctica, and one from the Apollo 12 Moon Mission! That makes this Flensburg meteorite, the largest of its kind ever classified!
Data & Reports
The latest version of the StrewnLAB Bulletin includes location and density data from the find, described above. I would like to think that the Version 3 prediction was actually correct, but the probability of finding a carbonaceous chondrite was low and the map indicated it as such. I do include this possibility in my simulations, by generating 5% of the meteorites as carbonaceous, to represent the actual probability of that meteoroid material in witnessed fall data. You can read more about my simulation methods in the StrewnLAB and Monte Carlo articles.
You will find the latest StrewnLAB Bulletin and strewn field KMZ file for the Flensburg, Germany event attached below. Notes on the latest version can always be found in the log at the end of the bulletin. Good Luck!
Old Reports
Additional data and archived reports are available at data.strewnify.com. For access, please contact Jim Goodall.
The author and founder of Strewnify.com, an automotive controls engineer, with a passion for physics.
Hancock, Michigan, USA | james.a.goodall@gmail.com | +1 586 709 5888
