Midwest meteor named after Wis. township where it fell
A meteorite that fell in Wisconsin earlier this year now has a name: Mifflin.
The Field Museum in Chicago said Wednesday that the Meteoritical Society named the meteorite after Mifflin Township, where it fell on April 14. The group also has classified it as an ordinary chondrite meteorite.
Pieces of the meteorite are on display at the Chicago museum. The museum also has received four pieces as a donation from a meteorite collector.
Scientists from Washington, Chicago and Wisconsin have analyzed and classified meteorite pieces.
Scientists say that analysis tells them the meteorite originally came from an asteroid fragment that separated from the main asteroid 470 million years ago between the planets of Mars and Jupiter.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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