* Astronomy

The Thuathe (H4/5) meteorite fell in Berea, Lesotho, on the 21st July, 2002.
A total mass of 45.3 kg was recovered.

29° 20'S, 27° 35'E

A meteorite travelling east to west exploded over Lesotho producing an elliptical strewn field extending 7.4 by 1.9 km (bearing: ~276°) on the westernmost lobe of the Thuathe (or Berea) Plateau, ~12 km east of the capital city of Maseru (approximate strewnfield apex coordinates: (W) 29°19'31"S, 27°34'37"E; (E) 29°19'54"S, 27°39'19"E; (N) 29°19'11"S, 27°37'2"E; (S) 29°20'14"S, 27°36'54"E). The explosion was accompanied by an extraordinarily loud, 15 s long noise which was heard over a large (100 km radius) area of Lesotho; the fall was eye-witnessed by several people who reported sightings of dust trails of "sparkling objects" over Lesotho and the southern part of the Free State Province of South Africa. Many villagers of Ha Ralimo, Boqate Ha Majara, and Boqate Ha Sofonia reported falls of stones close to themselves and onto their homes. The estimated total mass of recovered material is ~30 kg, including 418 stones in the 2 g to 2.4 kg mass range for a total of 24.673 kg which were collected and catalogued by A. Ashworth and David P. Ambrose (National University of Lesotho), one stone of 1.020 kg held by Dr. Molisana Molisana (National University of Lesotho), 5 stones acquired by the National Museum of Lesotho in Maseru, some were collected by the Geology Department, Free State University, Bloemfontein, and several others purchased by members of the public.
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