Largest meteorite in Mexico moved indoors

The Bacubirito meteorite , the sixth largest in the world and the second largest in Latin America, will be relocated to a special room at the Science Center of Sinaloa after lack of maintenance and weathering conditions have caused cracks in the piece.

With a total weight of 19.6 tons, this enormous rock, which has been exhibited in the open air for 58 years, will be placed inside a special room as part of the remodeling program of the Science Center of Sinaloa , where its temperature, humidity, and exposure to UV rays will be controlled.

The meteorite was discovered in 1863 by a farmer in the small town of Ranchito, in Bacubirito, Sinaloa, where it remained until 1959 when it was relocated to the main public park in Culiacán. Afterwards, it was moved to the terrace of the Science Center.

According to Eduardo Gómez, expert on meteors, its dimensions (4.25 meters long by 2 meteres high) make the Bacubirito metorite the second largest in America Latina and thus, an invaluable and irreplaceable piece, reason why it is necessary to prevent its further deterioration.

There are three main types of meteorites: iron, stone, and stony-iron meteorites, classified according to their chemical composition.

Given the chemical composition of the Bacubirito meteorite (88.94% iron, 6.98% nickel, 0.25% cobalt, and 0.0059% sulfur), it was classified as an iron meteorite , which means it comes from the core of a planetoid.

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