National Museum adds Orconuma meteorite to geological collection

The National Museum of the Philippines has received a portion of the Orconuma Meteorite, which fell on March 7, 2011 in Orconuma, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro.

According to the museum in a Facebook post, the 160.17-gram specimen is the first meteorite to be part of the museum’s National Geological and Paleontological Collections.

The whole meteorite, weighing 7.8 kilograms, was found in a field by three farmers, who stored the specimen for nine years, the museum said.

“The main mass was described as a single ellipsoidal, dense stone with a regmaglypted exterior coated by a dark fusion crust,” its Facebook announcement read.

Listed as one of the six meteorites from the Philippines in the Meteoritical Society’s Bulletin Database, it is reportedly among the first solid materials to form about 4.6 billion years ago.

The meteorite was donated by geologist Aubrey Whymark on behalf of owners John Higgins and Jasper Spencer during the turnover and signing ceremony last Friday.

“We hope that this donation paves the way for the acquisition and donation of the other five listed and still unlisted meteorites that fell in the country,” the museum said. “Welcome home, Orconuma!”

The other five meteorites from the Philippines listed in the Meteoritical Society’s Bulletin Database are the Bondoc, Calivo, Paitan, Pampanga, and Pantar meteorites. — Franchesca Viernes/BM, GMA News