Largest meteorite ever found

What to remember

Nobody has ever moved it: too heavy, the Hoba meteorite lies where it fell, on the Hoba West farm near Grootfontein, Namibia. Found in 1920, it weighs 60,000 kg in a single piece, the largest meteorite ever found.

It is an ataxite of group IVB, made of ferronickel, and it is also the most massive naturally occurring piece of iron known on Earth's surface. Its main mass, estimated at more than 60 tonnes, is about twice that of the largest fragments of other falls, such as Ahnighito from the Cape York meteorite and Gancedo from Campo del Cielo, both 31 tonnes. Some parts have apparently been chopped off.

There are two ways to measure a meteorite: by the largest fragment, or by all the material from a single fall, since a meteoroid often breaks up on entering the atmosphere. Hoba wins as an intact single piece. After it was donated to the government in 1987, a visitor centre was built around it, with a circular stone access and seating area.