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This Nantan meteorite, an iron meteorite, was named after the place where
it was found in southern China. The fall was recorded as being in 1516 -- "During
summertime in May of Jiajing 11th year, stars fell from the northwest direction,
five to six fold long, waving like snakes and dragons. They were as bright as
lightning and disappeared in seconds". The nantan meteorite was discovered by
the local residents of Nandan, China when they tried to melt them, assuming by
the weight that they were iron ore. They brought them for processing and to their
surprise they would not melt. It was then studied by the government and decided
that these VERY heavy rocks were actually iron meteorites with a composition of
approximately 85% iron and 6-7% nickel.
E-mail Address: meteorites@att.net