Elbogen (meteorite)
| Elbogen | |
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1908 macrograph of the Elbogen meteorite, by Alois von Widmanstätten. The nitric acid etched surface was inked and used as a printing plate to outline the structure in relief.
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| Type | fer natif |
| Class | Medium Octahedrites |
| Group | IID |
| Country | Present Czech Republic |
| Region | Karlovy Vary |
| Coordinates | 50°11′N 12°45′E / 50.183°N 12.750°ECoordinates: 50°11′N 12°45′E / 50.183°N 12.750°E |
| Observed fall | Yes |
| Fall date | 1400 |
| TKW | about 107 kg |
Elbogen (German: Elbogen), also the Loket Iron (Czech pronunciation: [ˈlokɛt]), is an iron meteorite that fell in the village of Loket, Karlovy Vary Region, Kingdom of Bohemia, about the year 1400. Also known during the Middle Ages as the "bewitched burgrave" of Elbogen, due to a cursed Count at the Elbogen castle, it is the oldest of 15 recorded falls in the Czech Republic. It has not survived to our time in its original size, having been cut for scientific purposes and its pieces sent to museums all around the world.
Weighing about 107 kilograms (236 lb) before being cut into pieces, the Elbogen meteorite has an octahedrite structure. Its dimensions were approximately 50×30×20 centimetres (19.7×11.8×7.9 in) and the mass was rounded and wedge-shaped. The whole surface is covered with dark gray oxides of iron, dull and without the signs of the original fusion crust. The iron must have been partially, if not completely, artificially heated or forged in an iron mill. The cut, etched surface of the meteorite shows a Widmanstätten pattern with tiny round troilite modules. The main mass of the meteorite is formed by nickel-iron alloys.
The Elbogen meteorite is not only one of the oldest recorded falls in history, but also the very iron that Alois von Widmanstätten used to discover the hidden internal structure of iron meteorites in 1808. Interestingly, instead of etching the iron to reveal these structures, analytic model previously discovered by G. Thomson in 1804, he heated a slab of the iron in the flame of a Bunsen burner and so had the figures that would be later named after him revealed.
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