12/01/2025
The Hoba meteorite, discovered by accident by a farmer in the African country of Namibia, is the world's largest meteorite. It weighs an astonishing 60 tons, and is also the largest piece of natural iron found on Earth. It is estimated to have hit Earth about 80,000 years ago. The most surprising aspect of this meteorite is that despite its enormous size, it did not leave any impact crater on the earth.
The Hoba meteorite is one of the largest and heaviest meteorites found on Earth. Typically, when a large meteorite collides with Earth, its impact creates a crater in the ground, known as an "impact crater." However, despite its massive size and weight, the Hoba meteorite did not create such a crater, which is puzzling for scientists. This could mean that it had lost significant speed in Earth's atmosphere and then fell slowly to the ground, or perhaps the angle of its surface impact with Earth was specific, preventing crater formation.
