A German resident has uncovered the largest stony meteorite ever recorded in Germany, a monumental discovery celebrated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
Named Blaubeuren after its discovery site, this stony meteorite measures 28x25x20 cm and weighs 30 kg, making it the most substantial of its kind found in Germany. It surpasses the previous record holder, the Benthullen meteorite at 17.25 kg, discovered in 1930.
According to a DLR press release from July 15, 2020, the find dates back to 1989. While digging a trench to lay a cable, the homeowner's shovel struck a large rock.
For years, the rock was overlooked and weathered, but eventually, he loaded it onto his trailer before deciding to store it properly in a dry location for preservation.
In January 2020, after 31 years, the owner submitted the specimen to the DLR for analysis. Experts sliced a sample and confirmed it as a stony meteorite, identifying a matrix of chondrules—tiny millimeter-sized spheres that agglomerated to form planets 4.5 billion years ago.
Ongoing analyses suggest the meteorite fell to Earth centuries ago. The owner hopes to see it permanently displayed in a museum.
This echoes a 2019 case in Australia, where a man kept a 17kg rock for five years, mistaking it for a gold nugget. Melbourne museum experts later identified it as a rare meteorite.
Meteorite hunts can yield rewards too. In November 2019, Maine's Mineral and Gem Museum offered $25,000 for fragments over 1kg from a fireball over Saint-Louis. Searchers may have found nothing, as it likely burned up or fragmented into tiny pieces.
