A 774-gram fragment of the Great Salt Lake meteorite, which fell on August 13, 2022, is now on display at the University of Utah, marking the first “fall” meteorite recovered in the state since 1950.
James Karner, the principal investigator of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites and a research associate professor in the University of Utah’s geology department, described the meteorite as a significant cosmic event. What was kind of unique about this meteorite is that it was seen as a fireball coming across the Midwest and the Mountain States,
Karner told KSL. It was really cool to actually hear the event happen in my own driveway.
This was Karner’s first direct experience witnessing a meteorite fall, despite his annual trips to Antarctica to collect meteorites for global study.
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The meteorite’s fall was captured by a Snowbasin Ski Resort webcam and heard by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox during a run in Salt Lake City. Cox shared a social media post about the event, noting, Did you hear that loud boom this morning? Our webcams captured this meteor flying over Snowbasin!
The meteorite, later officially named the Great Salt Lake meteorite, was the second “fall” meteorite recorded in Utah. The state’s first such event occurred in 1950 near Garland in Box Elder County.
Karner immediately began searching for fragments after witnessing the fireball. Using Doppler radar data from Salt Lake City and Pocatello, Idaho, he and a NASA Johnson Space Center colleague confirmed the meteorite had landed. Arizona-based meteorite hunter Robert Ward later donated the 774-gram fragment to the University of Utah. Karner estimates that 3.2 kilograms of the meteorite have been recovered, with more likely still in the Great Salt Lake’s playa and salt ponds. I suspect there are still pieces of this meteorite out in the playa, in the lake, actually, and probably out in the salt ponds,
he said.
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The meteorite’s recovery allowed scientists to trace its pre-impact orbit back to the asteroid belt, a rare achievement. Only about 70 meteorites have ever had that kind of tracking, Karner noted. The exhibit at the University of Utah’s Sutton Building includes video and interpretive materials, highlighting the meteorite’s role in Utah’s natural history. The display aims to educate the public on the meteorite’s significance, emphasizing its link to cosmic history.
Karner emphasized the rarity of such events, stating, We’re actually linking asteroids and asteroid families to specific meteorites. This connection has implications for understanding the solar system’s formation and asteroid dynamics. The meteorite’s discovery also underscores the importance of public engagement in scientific discovery. A lot of people in Salt Lake City heard these explosions,
Karner said.
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The meteorite’s fall was captured on webcam, and Karner’s initial thoughts about whether any pieces reached the ground reflect the challenges of meteorite recovery. There’s all kinds of meteors falling into the Earth’s atmosphere every day, but most of them are over the oceans,
Karner said. The Great Salt Lake’s playa and salt ponds, with their flat, dry surfaces, provided an ideal environment for locating the meteorite’s fragments.
The exhibit at the University of Utah’s Sutton Building includes the 774-gram fragment, the largest from the event, alongside interpretive materials. Karner believes more remains to be found, stating, There are still pieces of this meteorite out in the playa.
Future efforts may involve more extensive searches in the Great Salt Lake’s area, leveraging radar and other technologies to locate additional fragments. The meteorite’s study continues to provide insights into the solar system’s history, with its unique orbital tracking offering a rare opportunity for researchers.
