description L'Aigle Overview
L'Aigle is an L6 ordinary chondrite that fell near the town of L'Aigle in Normandy, France, on 26 April 1803. Thousands of stones reportedly reached the ground across a broad area, allowing physicist Jean-Baptiste Biot to collect testimony and examine physical evidence for the French Academy of Sciences. His investigation helped persuade European scientists that meteorites were extraterrestrial objects rather than terrestrial rocks or atmospheric products.
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L'Aigle ranks #1 of 213 in the Meteorite ranking, ahead of Allende.
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Why did the L'Aigle fall change scientific opinion about meteorites?
Thousands of stones reportedly fell near L'Aigle in Normandy in 1803, creating evidence too extensive to dismiss easily. Jean-Baptiste Biot investigated the site and documented witness accounts and the distribution of stones for the French Academy of Sciences.
Who was Jean-Baptiste Biot and what did he do at L'Aigle?
Biot was a French physicist sent to investigate the reported stone fall. He interviewed residents, examined specimens, and mapped the strewn field, helping establish that the stones had fallen from the sky.
What type of meteorite is L'Aigle?
L'Aigle is classified as an L6 ordinary chondrite. The L indicates relatively low total iron compared with H chondrites, while the petrologic type 6 reflects substantial thermal metamorphism on its parent body.
Were meteorites accepted as extraterrestrial before L'Aigle?
Some researchers already supported a cosmic origin, especially after the work of Ernst Chladni and earlier witnessed falls. Biot's 1803 investigation supplied unusually strong field evidence and helped shift mainstream scientific opinion.
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