Fröslunda, Sweden
3 min read
Fröslunda, Uppsala, SWEDEN – November 7, 2020, 10:27 PM local time, U.S. Government sensors detected a large meteor fireball travelling ENE at 17 km/s, ending above the town of Fjärdhundra, in the Enköping Municipality of Sweden’s Uppsala County. Total atmospheric impact energy was equivalent to 330 tonnes of TNT!
The event was also detected by the Norwegian meteor camera network, and a trajectory was published at the link below. Considering the size, speed, and angle of the fireball, it is likely there are meteorites on the ground. Travel is restricted at this time, due to the global pandemic, so the search will be limited to local efforts. Good luck to the people of Sweden, and we hope to see meteorites in the news soon!
| Entry Date/Time: | 2020-11-07 21:27:04 UTC |
| Location: | Fröslunda, Uppsala, Sweden |
| Reference Coordinates: | 59.819°N 16.846°E |
| Reference Altitude: | 17.2 km above sea level |
| Energy / Mass Estimate: | 0.33kt / 9700kg |
| Reference Speed: | 17.0 km/s |
| Bearing: | 63.9° ENE |
| Slope: | 18.4° from vertical |
| TKW: | none |
| Classification: | unknown |
| Event Links: | CNEOS Norwegian Meteor Network IMO Article |
Video and News
There were several videos captured, mostly by the Norwegian Meteor Camera Network, that were useful in determining the trajectory of the meteor. These videos were also found on YouTube.
Search Efforts
This was a fairly large event, and meteorite hunters from all over Europe visited the region, to join the search. In late February 2021, an impressive 14kg iron meteorite was found! If you would like to join the search and future events in this region, please join the Facebook group:
As noted in the press release from the Uppsala Allsky Meteor Network, if you plan to hunt for meteorites in Uppsala,
Respect the law, and note the following:
• Parking a car in the area is very difficult. If possible use the designated parking area. Do not park on
private property or block entries or exits.
• Red roads on the map are private roads, and should not be used.
• Always be well visible, wear a high-visibility vest.
• Do not visit the area when hunting is in progress, which happens relatively often in this area.
• Keep your distance to any forestry activity, at least 90 m.
• Do not enter any area or field that is in use, such as planted acres, or fenced areas with animals.
• You are not allowed to damage property. For example, only the land owner is allowed to dig.
• Using a metal-detector requires an official permit, and does not grant any rights to dig.
StrewnLAB Search Area
Two trajectories for this meteor have been published, one from CNEOS and one from a team in Norway, and this data has been run through the StrewnLAB software to predict a search area. Please download and review the Google Earth files below for detailed maps of the search area.
Weather Data
The weather data below is sourced from weather balloons, and publicly available via NOAA’s Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA). This data is downloaded and post-processed by the StrewnLAB algorithm, to account for changing weather patterns and weather balloon drift. The plots have altitude on the y-axis, in kilometers above sea level. The wind speed below 10km has large effect on the drift of meteorites.
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
Hi my name is Lisa Wilson and I am from Palm Springs California I have been collecting rocks for like 20 years but just in the last few years I have noticed some similarities that resemble and have the properties the magnetism the weight of meteorite rocks I have several hundreds of them so I have a plan Wylie I think we’re going to go to Quartzsite and have somebody there at the Rock what is it called Rock sickle rock festival in Quartzsite I believe it’s Arizona could be like white on the borders Arizona and California quartzite and anyways my plan is to do that to take a few of them to them shoes so they can test them to tell me so I can move on with my life and prove to people that don’t believe that they are but I am almost 99% positive they are so insane that what else would you like me to do would you like me to send you pictures or what just let me know thank you
Hi Lisa, I would recommend you first study some online resources on meteorite identification, like this one here: https://geology.com/meteorites/meteorite-identification.shtml
If you still think you have some meteorites, see if you can find a local geologist who can review the rocks in person. If you have trouble finding a local contact, feel free to contact us on Facebook.