AGUAS ZARCAS METEORITES SPECIMENS

Just after 9:00 PM on April 23, 2019, a brilliant fireball illuminated the skies over Aguas Zarcas, a town in central Costa Rica. The meteor then burst, scattering meteorite fragments across the area—some pieces even crashed into a doghouse! Upon atmospheric entry, the meteor broke into hundreds of smaller fusion-crusted stones, mostly angular but with some oriented specimens also found. Six days after the fall, rain drenched the area. Since scientists collected samples both before and after the rain, they now have excellent comparisons to observe how rain impacts the fusion crusts on fresh meteorites. Approximately 27 kilograms of meteorite material have been recovered from the fall.

Aguas Zarcas is classified as a CM2 chondrite, a rare type of chondrite featuring fine-grained chondrules, matrices, and plentiful hydrated minerals. Its highly brecciated structure indicates it came from a heavily impacted parent body, shaped by constant collisions and the accumulation of asteroidal material. Aguas Zarcas even contains organic compounds like sugar alcohols, carboxylic acids, and other hydrocarbons!