Molina de Segura: the largest meteorite fall in Spain

Abstract

This year is the 150th anniversary of the largest meteorite fall in Spain: the Molina H5 ordinary chondrite. This paper aims to bring to light this emblematic and remarkable meteorite event in the social-scientific context of 1858 by: giving a brief overview of the evolution of research on meteorites in Spain; explaining the circumstances surrounding the fall, recovering unique historical documentation about the event; and describing its main mineralogical, petrologic and geochemical features. Finally, a minor change of the meteorite’s name is proposed, in line with the renaming of the locality of the fall.