13. KUNASHAK PARTIAL SLICE
L6
Chelyabinsk, USSR
Fell June 11, 1949 / TKW: 200 kg
While the Chelyabinsk meteorite shower of February 13, 2013 will forever be immortalized as one of the most historic meteorite showers of modern times, decades earlier there was another shower which occurred in the same region. On June 11, 1949 at 8:41 AM the arrival of the Kunashak meteorite shower was heralded by multiple sonic booms. Twenty stones were recovered — one of which punctured a rooftop. Accented with a galaxy of small metallic flakes, web-like strands of impact melt course through the mottled gray matrix of this uncommonly appealing meteorite.
This partial slice was deaccessioned by the Russian Academy of Sciences. At the time it was cut decades ago by the Academy, there was little concern about precision cutting and so this specimen also features on the reverse the distinction of the multiple cut marks which are a telltale characteristic of the era.
Provenance:
Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
Estimate $800 – 1,000 * Res $700