When we visited Paris in 2018 we stayed in a small hotel near Notre Dame that was close enough that it also allowed us to enjoy long walks along the River Seine. One day we walked along the river to the Jardin des Plantes where the National Museum of Natural History is located. While we were there the museum had a special exhibit of meteorites. A few of them were illuminated with black light revealing sparkles and colors that in other lighting just looked like a dull rock. For a taste of “star dust,” five postcard examples of the meteorites are shared below.
Meteorites are fragments of rock or iron from outer space. They usually originate from a meteoroid or asteroid like those in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and some pass through the atmosphere to land on the earth. They can be small, less than a gram, or larger than 60 tons. Meteorite sightings are called observed falls or shooting stars, and those pieces or fragments found on Earth are called finds. They have been occurring for thousands of years and can land randomly everywhere on Earth with most landing in the oceans. Since most of them contain iron they deteriorate over time unless they land in places that have only occasional rain. The cards show some of the meteorites on display during the special exhibit.
1. This first postcard shows the Kransojarsk meteorite found in Russia in 1749. Seen first by P.S. Pallis and then on his orders transported to Saint Petersburg. The entire mass weighed 1,500 lbs or 700 kg. It was the first pallasite found and studied and led to the creation of the Pallasite group named after Pallis.
2. The second card has a picture of the Imilac meteorite found in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chili in 1822. It is classified as a stony-iron pallasite and is highly prized by collectors for its beautiful olivine grains. Pieces of this meteorite were found spread over about 5 miles or 8 km.
3. These two pieces were found in Lancé, France in 1872 and are composed of carbonaceous chondrites. They are found in the CO3 grouping that takes its name from Ornans, France and is petrologic type 3. [C chondrites from Ornans, type 3].
4. The fourth example is of ordinary chondrite (H4), one of the most numerous group and are about 87% of all finds. It was found in 1890 and is called the Villedieu meteorite. Villedieu is located just north of the Cộte-d’Or in France.
5. This last example is a 5 kg fragment of an iron meteorite discovered near Magnesia, Turkey in 1899.
The National Museum of Natural History is huge and has too many different exhibits to list. One of the ones we did enjoy was the Gallery of Evolution, a large room with what looked like hundreds if not thousands of taxidermied animals and birds on display. Part of the museum campus includes a zoo, a botanical garden and green house, dinosaur exhibits, and many other things.
And especially for a 4-year old grandson, who loves these guys, is this photo of one of several full-sized models of dinosaurs on display was this T-Rex in the garden.
The original Jardin des Plantes was the medicinal garden of King Louis XIII established in 1635 and was tended by royal physicians. After the Revolution in 1793 it was reorganized and given the present title. The museum has 14 sites throughout France including the original location.
All the cards were purchased at gift shop in the National Museum of Natural History with MNHN J.C. Domenech printed at the lower left corner on the reverse.
For additional information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinary_chondrite
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorite_fall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krasnojarsk_(meteorite)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imilac
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonaceous_chondrite#CO_group
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villedieu_(Côte-d'Or)
https://www.meteorite.com/
https://www.mindat.org/loc-262736.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Museum_of_Natural_History
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