Case file · Cosmic event
The Nōgata meteorite
A stone that fell at Nōgata in Kyushu in 861 and was kept at the Suga shrine is the oldest meteorite whose fall was witnessed and whose stone still survives.
861 CE · 33.74, 130.73 · status: official
The account
Shrine records say a bright light and a loud noise came before the stone was found in the precinct, where it was then kept in a wooden box dated 861. Analysis in 1979 confirmed it is an L6 chondrite.