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Under a sky with infinite stars lies the world's driest desert

Saint-Pierre-le-Viger
Asteroid 2023 CX1

2023 CX1 temporary designation Sar2667 was a meter-sized asteroid/meteoroid that entered Earth's atmosphere on February 13 2023 at 3:00 UTC and disintegrated creating a fireball over the English Channel near the Normandy coast in France. It was discovered seven hours before the impact by Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky at the Piszkéstető Observatory Konkoly Station in the Mátra Mountains in Hungary. 2023 CX1 is the seventh asteroid discovered before impact with Earth. It has recently become the third such object from which meteorites have been recovered.

The first meteorites the asteroid 2023 CX 1 were found in a field in the municipality of Saint-Pierre-le-Viger (Seine-Maritime) on February 15 2023 by Lois Leblanc an 18-year-old student an art school as part of field research organized by FRIPON/Vigie-ciel. After numerous calculations of trajectories and impact zones researchers the FRIPON/Vigie-Ciel program mobilized their associated network to begin field research in search of remains of meteorite fragments the asteroid. The first fragment weighing at least 90 g was found followed by 11 other meteorites weighing between 2 and 24 g in the following days.

At the search site other search teams around the world were present. Among them were Steve Arnold and Roberto Vargas the USA who discovered a specimen weighing 175g. We also met Thierry Monter a who managed to find a specimen weighing approximately 350g. Unfortunately his meteorite shattered into numerous small fragments upon impact with the asphalt. The largest piece that meteorite weighs 80g. There were also other searchers among others Belgium, Germany, Serbia, Hungary, Poland and of course France.

Despite challenging weather conditions we made daily efforts to cover as much ground as possible averaging about 20km per day. However we were unable to find anything else during that time. Consequently again we extended our search this time beyond the area designated by Pavel Spurny and Jiří Borovička towards the southeast in the direction of the village of Autigny.

2023 CX1 temporary designation Sar2667 was a meter-sized asteroid/meteoroid that entered Earth's atmosphere on February 13 2023 at 3:00 UTC

liczb bloki 3: 6

Our search began with surveys conducted in various ed areas of the terrain. We aimed to establish some starting point. Initially we relied on existing maps and findings that were partially available. Unfortunately for a long time we were unable to find anything.After many hours spent in the field and analyzing all the information in the vicinity of the small village of Angiens we finally managed to find the first two meteorites weighing 7g and 11g respectively. The location did not come as a surprise as specimens had already been discovered in the area by the Fripon / Vigie Ciel group France. In the following days we continued to expand our search area looking for potentially promising locations.

Despite challenging weather conditions we made daily efforts to cover as much ground as possible averaging about 20km per day. However we were unable to find anything else during that time. Consequently again we extended our search this time beyond the area designated by Pavel Spurny and Jiří Borovička towards the southeast in the direction of the village of Autigny.

During systematic field investigations we unexpectedly noticed an interesting hole in the ground. The hole had a depth of approximately 7cm and a dark stone was visible at the bottom. Our hearts raced and to confirm our suspicion we illuminated it with a flashlight. After a short moment it became evident that a meteorite was lying at the bottom. Its unmistakable dark fusion crust left no room for doubt. We celebrated this moment for an extended period reveling in the joy of this extraordinary discovery. The dimensions of this meteorite are 75x40x35mm and it weighs 148.3g importantly it is complete.

This event further motivated us to continue our work and unravel the mystery of how and in what area the fragmentation of Asteroid 2023 CX1 occurred. By examining the terrain and having additional reference points our findings we drew our own conclusions. After several more days of searching we were rewarded with success in the form of finding many small fragments of this magnificent meteorite. Most of these smaller fragments were discovered outside the area determined by the available calculations of scientists. In total we found there 18 meteorites weighing between 0.84g and 14g.

Despite thoroughly searching a significant portion of the terrain between our largest finding and the designated area the smallest masses were found which we considered the beginning of the strewn field we were disappointed that we couldn't find intermediate masses between 30g and 100g. Based on our observations we believe that Asteroid 2023 CX1 fragmented into numerous small pieces ranging 1g to 10g in the northwest part behind the village of Angiens.

Additionally there is a high probability that the main mass of the meteorite approximately 2kg could be located within the area designated by Pavel Spurny and Jiří Borovička in the southeastern part behind the village of Autigny. Unfortunately further searches may prove to be challenging as in most cases the meteorites fell in cultivated fields. In summary after approximately three weeks of intensive searches many hours spent in the field and covering a distance of 760km we concluded our investigation recovering a total of 20 pieces of this magnificent meteorite with weights of:

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Saint-Pierre-le-Viger Asteroid 2023 CX1

Saint-Pierre-le-Viger
Asteroid 2023 CX1