{"product_id":"aletai-stone-skipping-meteorite-china","title":"Aletai Stone-Skipping Meteorite China","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe Aletai meteorite holds a record that no other fall on Earth can match: a strewn field extending at least 430 kilometres — the largest meteorite debris field ever recorded. Scientists believe this extraordinary dispersal was caused by a unique stone-skipping atmospheric trajectory, in which the meteorite entered Earth's atmosphere at a shallow angle, bounced off the upper atmosphere like a stone skipping across water, and then re-entered at a different point before finally breaking apart and scattering its fragments across Northern Xinjiang.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThis stone-skipping trajectory is exceptionally rare — possibly unique in the documented meteorite record — and it contributed to the difficulty in recognising the Aletai as a single fall. Fragments recovered at different points along the strewn field were catalogued separately for decades under names including Armanty, Xinjiang, and Ulasitai, before chemical and mineralogical analysis confirmed a shared origin. In 2016, all known masses were formally named Aletai after the Altay Prefecture in China.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eClassified as an anomalous IIIE iron meteorite — a coarse octahedrite unlike any other known sample — Aletai has a total recovered mass exceeding 74 tonnes, a Widmanstätten pattern distinct from all other IIIE irons, and a rare-element chemistry featuring elevated cobalt, gold, and iridium. This is a fragment of a truly one-of-a-kind cosmic event.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Specimen Details\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px;\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e✓ Meteorite Type:\u003c\/strong\u003e Anomalous IIIE Iron Meteorite (Coarse Octahedrite)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px;\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e✓ Composition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Kamacite, Taenite, Plessite; elevated Cobalt, Gold \u0026amp; Iridium\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px;\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e✓ Accessory Minerals:\u003c\/strong\u003e Schreibersite, Troilite, Cohenite, Haxonite, Daubréelite\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px;\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e✓ Strewn Field:\u003c\/strong\u003e 430+ km — longest ever recorded on Earth\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px;\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e✓ Total Recovered Mass:\u003c\/strong\u003e Exceeds 74 tonnes\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px;\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e✓ Fall Location:\u003c\/strong\u003e Northern Xinjiang (Altay Prefecture), China\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px;\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e✓ First Identified:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1898 (as Armanty); formally named Aletai in 2016\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px;\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e✓ Specimen Size:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan class=\"svelte-1fz0gqk\"\u003e≈17\u003c\/span\u003emm x 37mm x 22mm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"padding-left: 40px;\" class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e✓ Weight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 38 gram\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\"\u003eOwn a fragment of the only known stone-skipping meteorite fall — the Aletai, from the world's largest recorded strewn field\u003c\/span\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ForeverGems_SA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45524588658884,"sku":"S224","price":860.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0273\/1599\/4699\/files\/S224AletaiMeteorite_1.webp?v=1765441976","url":"https:\/\/www.forevergems.co.za\/products\/aletai-stone-skipping-meteorite-china","provider":"ForeverGems_SA","version":"1.0","type":"link"}