2019-09-19 Thu

Australia issued a $1 domestic-rate stamp on 10th September to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a meteorite falling to earth near the town of Murchison in Victoria, Australia, on 28th September 1969.

The Murchison meteorite is one of the most studied meteorites in history. It is housed in museums in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.)

Eyewitnesses saw the bright orange ball with a smoky blue trail passing through the night sky before it broke apart above the Earth with a sonic boom. The Murchison meteorite retained many chemical properties from the time of its formation some 4.56 billion years ago and may even be a fragment of a comet.

The stamp issued to commemorate the meteorite falling depicts the location of the place where the meteorite fell and a bright yellow and golden streak falling from the sky. The stamp is inscribed with “Murchison Meteorite” at the bottom right, the name of the country along with the years 1969 – 2019 on the top right and the denomination on the top left.

Image Courtesy: https://www.linns.com

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