A meteorite was discovered at a border crossing with Chile when he was transferred inside a car driven by a man from the province of Córdoba. As reported by Customs, Atmospheric ablation marks were visible on the seized object.
The discovery occurred last week when customs agents stationed at the Agua Negra International Pass, at 4,780 meters above sea level, in the middle of the Andes Mountainsthey were inspecting a vehicle that was entering the country from Chile and they came across something that caught their attention.
The man was carrying a large amount of stones in the back seat of the car. and they asked the driver to discard them for phytosanitary reasons, the man agreed, but he did not throw away one of the shiny-looking stones that had caught the attention of the agents.
The specialized personnel of the General Directorate of Customs-AFIP examined this large and shiny object and immediately felt that its weight was not consistent with its size, which led toIt made us suspect that it might be a cultural or patrimonial asset, for which they retained it and filed a report.
This object weighed 12.5 kilos and was 27 centimeters long. It was transferred to Buenos Aires to be analyzed by the Argentine Mining Geological Service (SEGEMAR), which concluded that it was a meteorite.
The SEGEMAR scientists verified the presence of depressions that “correspond to the regmaglyptus formed by the ablation when the meteorite penetrates the Earth’s atmosphere.” Besides, They claimed that its composition had an iron/nickel ratio that is not found on Earth.
Given that Law 26,306 establishes that Meteorites that enter Argentine territory are cultural propertythe celestial object in question was, definitely, of prohibited import, as indicated in Article 610 of the Customs Code.
RB / MCP
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