The Sikhote-Alin Meteorite fell during daylight at 10.38am local time on February 12th 1947 in the Sikhote-Alin mountains about 270 miles north-east of Vladivostok. Witnesses reported a fireball that was brighter than the Sun. It came from the north and left a trail of smoke and dust that was 20 miles long. The speed of entry was estimated to be about 31,000 miles per hour and as it entered the atmosphere it began to break apart. At an altitude of approximately 3.5 miles the largest mass apparently broke up in a violent explosion scattering fragments over about a square kilometre. There are two distinct types of Sikhote-Alin: shrapnel-like fragments resulting from this explosion and complete individuals which probably broke off the main mass early in the descent. This meteorite is a shrapnel-like fragment with tear-like structures visible and is an excellent example from one of the most spectacular meteorite falls of recorded history.