The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism has announced the detection of the first meteorite sample whose entry into Omani airspace was documented by devices in the Sultanate of Oman.
The step was taken in cooperation with the Natural History Museum in Bern in Switzerland, Curtin University in Australia with technical support from the Oman Telecommunications Company “Omantel”.
The local meteorite monitoring devices were able to determine the geographical location of the meteorite (two samples weighing 8.2 grams and 13.8 grams), as well as the route of their fall, which made it easier for the Omani-Swiss team to quickly pick the sample.
The meteorite sample was classified as “breccia H5-6” and was officially named “Al-Khadhaf” in reference to the location of its fall in the Al-Khadhaf area in the Wilayat of Thumrait, Governorate of Dhofar.
Al Khadhaf meteorite emerged as the smallest outer-space object from among 40 meteorite falls captured by meteorite monitoring devices around the world. The achievement offers evidence of the possibility of searching and finding similar astronomical objects by using modern technology in Oman
Source: Oman News Agency