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Fallen from the sky

The image below results from the superposition of two photographs, one taken at Rennes-le-Château (Aude, Occitanie), the other at Saint-Sauveur (Haute-Garonne, Occitanie). It reveals the features of an « aerolite » that crashed on July 10, 1914, on a parcel of land in this village located a few kilometers north of Toulouse. Read more ...

sous-menu Earth in the Universe : Introduction|The creation of the world|The movement of stars and planets

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Fallen from the sky

This image results from the superposition of two photographs taken, the one at Rennes le Chateau, Aude, the other one in Saint-Sauveur (Haute-Garonne, Occitanie). It reveals the features of an « aerolite » stranded on July 10, 1914 in grounds of this village located a few kilometers north of Toulouse. It emphasizes its close relationship with the celestial objects - in particular, the solid bodies of our solar system from which every meteorites come.

For long, these stones fallen from the sky were the only samples of extraterrestrial material available on Earth. The study of their chemical and isotopic compositions has delivered valuable information regarding their provenance - the Moon, Mars, a planetoid which no longer exists or even a fragment of asteroid, the formation processes of rocky planets as well as the composition of the primordial solar nebula.

Moreover, the analysis of a few of them revealed the presence of amino acids, the building blocks of life, thereby powering the theory of panspermia according to which life on Earth would be of extraterrestrial origin.

The meteorite of Saint-Sauveur
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Photo Infos

Keywords : meteorite fall, Saint Sauveur, Haute Garonne, Occitanie, southern France, extraterrestrial material sample, analogy with the composition of the Earth, theory of panspermia, origin of life

Conference Slideshow

This photograph - accompanied by 21 other shots, makes up the slideshow of a lecture entitled « What are the limits of science? » given in 2016 at the Quai des Savoirs as well as at the Maison de la Philosophie in Toulouse (Occitanie). More info ...

Print-on-demand

The partnership established with the company Fine Art America, one of the world leaders in printing technology for works of art on various surfaces (walls, clothes, decorative objects, etc.), allows the Culture Diff' company to offer you a Museum Quality printing of this photograph.

Explore the different supports, formats and printing styles available by clicking here.

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