Falconpowers – Debris from meteorites and space objects are scattered across various regions of Saudi Arabia, with some pieces consisting of iron, others of rocks, and a mixture of both.
The Geological Survey Authority had previously announced the discovery of 83 meteorites in the Saudi desert between 2012 and 2019, in addition to the two significant meteorites that had been discovered earlier – one in the Empty Quarter and the other in Al-Khamasin in Wadi Al-Dawasir.
This discovery of meteorites was made by a team from the Desert Studies Department of the Survey Authority and experts from the University of Bern in Switzerland. The researchers and specialists are interested in studying the composition and age of these meteorites to better understand the universe around us, including their age and weight, as well as the remaining parts that reached the Earth’s surface.
The Abu Hadeeda Meteorite
This meteorite, known locally in the Empty Quarter as the “Abu Hadeeda” due to the abundance of scattered iron pieces around it, was first discovered by the explorer “Philby” during one of his expeditions. It has been visited by many geologists from around the world, and a remaining piece weighing 2.75 tons is on display at the Saudi National Museum in Riyadh.
The Al-Khamasin Meteorite:
The College of Science at King Saud University in Riyadh houses two pieces of the iron meteorite found in Wadi Al-Dawasir, one of which weighs 1.2 tons. This meteorite is considered one of the largest and most resistant to burning upon impact on the Earth’s surface.
The Al-Khamasin meteorite was first discovered in the early 1970s by employees of the Saudi Educational Institute in Wadi Al-Dawasir, in a small location known by the locals as “Abu Hadeeda,” similar to the naming of the site of the Abu Hadeeda meteorite, due to the abundance of scattered iron pieces in the area.
