Simonaa at 00:25, 27 March 2026

2026-03-27T00:25:29Z

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{{Short description|Celestial Meteorite falls at Madhubani district in Mithila region}}

'''Mahadeva Meteorite''' ([[Maithili language|Maithili]]: महादेव उल्कापिंड) also known as ''Mahadeva Chondrite'' or simply ''Mahadeva'' is a celestial object that fell at ''Mahadeva'' village of Laukahi block in the [[Madhubani district]] of the [[Mithila (region)|Mithila region]] in the state of [[Bihar]] in India.<ref>{{Cite news |last=PTI |date=2019-07-25 |title=Suspected meteorite found in Bihar |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/suspected-meteorite-found-in-bihar/article28705811.ece |access-date=2024-10-02 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> It fell on 22 July 2019 at a farm in the village.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Panda |first1=Dipak K. |last2=Ray |first2=Dwijesh |last3=Shukla |first3=Anil D. |date=2020-12-01 |title=The petrochemical constraint and cosmogenic records of Mahadeva (H5/6) chondrite: A new fall in India |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S003206332030324X |journal=Planetary and Space Science |volume=194 |article-number=105111 |doi=10.1016/j.pss.2020.105111 |bibcode=2020P&SS..19405111P |issn=0032-0633|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |title=Characterizing a New Meteorite Fall from Mahadeva, India |url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/planetary_news/2020/10/26/characterizing-a-new-meteorite-fall-from-mahadeva-india/#gsc.tab=0 |work=Universities Space Research Association, Lunar and Planetary Institute}}</ref>

{{Infobox meteorite subdivision|Name=Mahadeva Meteorite|Alternative_names=Mahadeva Chondrite|Subdivision=Chondrite|Type=Celestial Object|Class=[[H chondrite]]|Composition=Iron (Fe), silica (SiO2), chondrules, Metal and Metals Alloy|Petrologic_type=5/6}}

{{Coord|26|28|56.28|N|86|35|53.17|E|display=title|name=Mahadeva Meteorite fall site}}

Coordinates - Location of the fall of ''Mahadeva'' - '''(26°28<nowiki>'56.28''</nowiki>''N, 86°35<nowiki>'53.17''</nowiki>''E)'''

(Source - [[Physical Research Laboratory]], Ahmedabad)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meteorite |url=https://www.prl.res.in/~plas/meteorite.html |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=www.prl.res.in}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
Mahadeva Meteorite fell at a farm in Mahadeva village of the Madhubani district in India.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ratcliffe |first=Rebecca |date=2019-07-25 |title=Indian farmers shocked as suspected meteorite crashes into rice field |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/25/indian-farmers-shocked-as-suspected-meteorite-crashes-into-rice-field |access-date=2024-10-02 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The meteorite was named after the village where it fell.<ref name=":0" />

== People observation and media reports ==
The Mahadeva Meteorite fell around 12 pm on Monday at day time. According to the witness farmers, the celestial object fell into the farm field with a loud noise and smoke started coming out. It penetrated the ground about six feet down.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andrews |first=Robin |title=Did A Meteorite Just Crash Land In India? Here's What We Know |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinandrews/2019/07/26/did-a-meteorite-just-crash-land-in-india-heres-what-we-know/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> The sound of the stone falling was heard for miles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=बिहार: मधुबनी में आसमान से गिरा 15 किलो का पत्थर, उल्का पिंड होने के लगाए जा रहे कयास |url=https://zeenews.india.com/hindi/india/bihar-jharkhand/15-kg-stone-fallen-from-sky-in-madhubani-of-bihar/555057 |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Zee News |language=hi}}</ref> Due to fear farmers working in farms ran away from there when they saw the mysterious object slamming into the ground. When the smoke subsided, a young farmer dug the ground and found a black stone.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |title=वीडियो, कौतूहल का विषय बन गया है आकाश से गिरा काला पत्थर |url=https://www.livehindustan.com/bihar/madhubani/story-curiosity-has-become-the-subject-of-black-stone-dropped-from-the-sky-2645344.html |work=Hindustan}}</ref>

After that the local administrations were informed about the mysterious object. A local administration official found the object was attracting an magnet when it was brought near it. The news of the fall of the mysterious object spread around the villages and a large numbers of people flocked to see it.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=2020-10-19 |title=Cosmic stone Mahadeva that hit Bihar village decoded at Physical Research Laboratory |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/cosmic-stone-mahadeva-that-hit-bihar-village-decoded-at-prl/articleshow/78738612.cms |access-date=2024-10-02 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

After some time the then [[District magistrate|District Magistrate]] ''Shirsat Kapil Ashok'' took the mysterious stone under his control. He kept it under tight security and sent for further examination.<ref name=":1" /> ''Dr Shashi Bhushan Prasad'', head of the Department of [[Geography]], at [[Ram Krishna College]], [[Madhubani, India|Madhubani]] informed that "Falling such a large stone is not a trivial matter. Only after looking at the stone and making a special study of it can anything be said".<ref name=":1" />

After two days the mysterious stone was brought to the [[chief minister]]'s residence at [[1, Aney Marg]] in the state capital city [[Patna]]. The chief minister [[Nitish Kumar]] observed the mysterious object and inquired about it with the [[geologist]]s brought at his residence. The geologists informed that the mysterious stone is a [[meteorite]]. They also informed that the mysterious object contains elements like [[iron ore]], [[magnesium]] and [[olivine]], etc. After that the chief minister Nitish Kumar ordered his officer to hand over the mysterious object to the [[Department of Science and Technology (Bihar)|Department of Science and Technology]] for further research. He also said that after the further research and examination of the mysterious object, it would be kept in the [[Bihar Museum]] for public.<ref>{{Cite web |title=बिहार: CM नीतीश ने देखा मधुबनी में गिरा रहस्यमय पत्थर, म्यूजियम में रखने का आदेश |url=https://zeenews.india.com/hindi/india/bihar-jharkhand/stone-fallen-from-sky-in-madhubani-nitish-kumar-observed-possible-meteorite/555263 |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Zee News |language=hi}}</ref>

== Scientific descriptions ==
The weight of the ''Mahadeva Meteorite'' is approximately 15 kg. It is classified as [[H chondrite|H-chondrite]] on the basis of the petrochemical studies by the scientists at [[Physical Research Laboratory]], [[Ahmedabad]]. The meaning of the ''H chondrite'' is "high-iron ordinary chondrite".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

The Mahadeva Meteorite is an ordinary chondrite. It contains "[[relict]] [[Chondrule|chondrules]], small spherical, melt-textured objects which were formed during the early solar [[nebula]]". The size of the chondrules range from "''a few hundred microns to more than two millimeters across''". The meteorite is categorized as [[Petrography|petrographic type]] 5/6. According to the study of mineral composition of the meteorite, it is inferred that the meteorite had experienced high temperatures of approximately 800°C.<ref name=":2" />

The meteorite is very useful in the study of [[Planetary science|Planetary Science]]. It can provide new data to insights the processes of the [[Solar System]] during the early period.

== Institutions involved ==
The Mahadeva Meteorite is kept at the ''[[Bihar Museum|Patna Science Museum]]''. Its small portion approximately 130 gm sample<ref name=":0" /> was sent to the [[Physical Research Laboratory]] in [[Ahmedabad]].<ref name=":3" /> There it was chemically and texturally characterized by the scientists ''Dipak Panda'' and his colleagues ''Dwijesh Ray'' and ''Anil D Shukla''.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> The financial support for the project of the study and research was assisted by the Department of Space, Government of India. The meteorite is preserved under the supervision of the Director Sanjeev Kumar of science and technology at [[Bihar Museum]], [[Patna]].<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Meteorites]]
[[Category:Madhubani district]]
[[Category:Mithila (region)]]

Mahadeva Meteorite - Revision history

Simonaa at 00:25, 27 March 2026