Fragmentation of the Sikhote‐alin Meteoritic Body

Based on the results of the study of regmaglyptic relief of individual specimens of the Sighote‐Alin iron meteorite shower, three main stages of fragmentation have been established for a meteoritic body moving through the atmosphere with cosmic velocity. During the first stage, the fragmentation took place at a relatively high cosmic velocity, the fragments being subjected to a major aerodynamic influence. In the second stage, the velocity had decreased due to atmospheric resistance and the fragments were subjected to less drastic aerodynamic action in the regmaglyptic formation. During the third stage, fragments were further fragmented when their cosmic velocities had been almost completely absorbed and the new fracture surfaces were practically untouched by atmospheric influence. As a result of such a multistage fragmentation, the main scatter‐ellipse was over‐lapped by two secondary ellipses, thereby complicating the patterns of scattering of individual specimens of the meteorite shower, which turns out to contain a number of anomalies.