Scientists are excited about the prospect of studying the fragments of a meteorite that hit a home in the southern city Matera on Valentine’s Day last week. The rare discovery was made thanks to the passion that two brothers, Giuseppe and Gianfranco Losignore, have for astronomy.
“It was an exceptional event because the San Valentine’s meteorite found us,” said Giuseppe Losignore about the meteorite that hit a solar panel and a tile at the home of the siblings’ mother and father. “Our parents heard a bang on the night of February 14 but they thought nothing of it.
“Subsequently I noticed the solar panel was in bits and a tile, made out of ultra-resistant material that is difficult to damage, was cracked. Then I found fragments of different sizes, scorched and with a metallic shine, “I though it had to be something important. We contacted the Prisma (meteorite-surveillance) network and Dr. Carmelo Falco confirmed what we thought”.
he fireball created by the meteorite had been spotted by Prisma, which is run by the INAF Italian national institute of astrophysics The fragments will now be studied by a team of scientists, including experts form Britain’s Open University.
“We expect to get important information regarding the origin and development of our system,” Giovanni Pratesi of the University of Florence told a press conference on Monday.
“The material is interesting and there is a sufficient quantity to do all the necessary analysis”.
