MBALE — ONE OF THE ONLY METEORITES TO HIT A PERSON, L5/6 Malukhu, Uganda (1°4'N, 34°10'E)

Revealing both the internal and external structure of the Mbale meteorite. The cut and polished face display a variegated chestnut-to-chocolate interior split by a vein of impact melt and is further embellished with sparkling flakes of metallic iron-nickel. The reverse includes broad patches of fusion crust from the frictional heating experienced when this meteorite plunged through Earth’s atmosphere.
64 x 79 x 17 mm. (2½ x 3 x ⅔ in.) and 161.9 g. (⅓ lbs)

Once vaunted as a cure for AIDS dispatched by God. Throughout the course of civilization, hopes and fears have been roused by rocks inexplicably falling out of the sky. And so it happened yet again when at 3:40 PM on August 14, 1992, a deafening explosion occurred over the densely populated city of Mbale, Uganda and a shower of rocks rained earthward. In one of only two documented instances of a meteorite striking someone: a small meteorite fell through the leaves of a banana tree and plunked a young boy on the head. He was not hurt. In the early 90s, Uganda was ravaged by AIDS, and many of the recovered meteorites were ground up into a paste and ingested or applied topically by those who believed the stones were the cure for AIDS dispatched by God.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalog note.