Mocs

Name in the NHM catalogue: Mocs
Locality*: Mociu, judeţ [county] Cluj, ROM
Co-ordinates: 46° 48' N, 24° 2' E
Fall/find: Fall
Date of the fall: 03.02.1882, 16:00
Type (level 1): Stone
Type (level 2): Chondrite
Type (level 3): Ordinary chondrite
Group: L6
Further data: veined; S3-5
Recovered weight: 300 kg
Synonyms*: Bare, Cluj, Gjilatelke, Gyulateke, Gyulatelke, Keszu, Klausemburg, Klausenburg, Kyolos, Marokháza, Mociu, Mócs, Olah Gyéres, Palatka, Vajda-Kamaras, Visa
Remark: Data from Grady, M. M. (2000): Catalogue of meteorites. 5^th rev. enl. ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Data marked with an asterisk (*) are supplemented or corrected.

History of the fall: A fireball was first observed above Hont County (N of Budapest) then moved until the middle of Transylvania and landed as a meteorite shower after threefold detonation followed by a volley-like rattling and finally, a buzzing noise. 3000 stones (estimated) fell to an elliptical strewn field of 60 km² area. The size of the stones increased from NW to SE (smallest: Gyulatelke [now Coasta], Visa [Vişea] and Marokháza [Tăuşeni], medium: Baré [Bărăi], Vajdakamarás [Vaida-Cămăraş] and Palatka [Pălatca]; largest: Oláhgyéres [Ghirişu Român], Keszü [Chesău] and Mocs [Mociu]), the largest (35-kg) specimen fell over Mocs (now Mociu). The distribution of the stones and the overall presence of the crust suggest that the meteorite disintegrated prior to entering the atmosphere.