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OURIQUEThis meteorite fell on December 28, 1998 at 01:50 in the morning in Aldea del Palhieros, Baixa Alentejo, Portugal. Ourique is a brecciated chondrite (H4). The people of that tiny village were in the only bar in town celebrating the holidays and suddenly a bright light lit up the town outside. They all rushed out and saw the fireball getting larger and larger but not appearing to move. That is because the meteorite was heading directly at them. the next day a villager herding goats and pigs stumbled upon a small crater in a dirt road, and scattered around the hole wee many fragments of black and white burned rocks. He had seen the fireball and knew that was what caused it. All of the people in the area came an took away the pieces. I learned of the Ourique fall several months later and went to Portugal. To my surprise, many small pieces were still scattered all over the place near the crater. I picked up ~3 kilos of fragments in a week. I also bought 5.5 kilos of fresh meteorite pieces from the locals who had taken them. The pieces below are all from pieces that I personally found. I was the only dealer to get any Ourique and all of it came from me. I have sold virtually all of it, so these pieces are just about all that is left. Click the following link to see an article published by the University of Arizona regarding Ourique: |
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