Space

Mystery of the Barwell meteorite

By Steve Hopkinson

Discover how a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite fragment in the Natural History Museum's collection hid a secret about the origins of our solar system.

On Christmas Eve 1965, a meteorite the size of a Christmas turkey broke up over the Leicestershire village of Barwell. It remains the largest meteorite fall observed in Britain.

Natasha Almeida, Assistant Meteorite Curator at the Museum, has been researching fragments from the Barwell meteorite held in the Museum's world-renowned meteorite collection.

Join Natasha as she shows science communicator Camilla Tham one of the fragments, and explores the hidden pebble that changed the way we think about how our solar system formed.

A graphic showing 5 diferent planetary bodies against a blue background dotted with stars and galaxies

Find out in our latest exhibition! Snap a selfie with a piece of Mars, touch a fragment of the Moon and lay your hands on a meteorite older than our planet.

Opens 16 May, discounted early bird tickets available now.