Now the Earth has only one natural satellite of the Moon.
But more recently, about 6-7 thousand years ago, our planet could be seen two of the moon, talking about it, not only the myths and legends of many peoples, but also the geological findings.
Lumps of pure iron.
In the north.
Argentina. Located Campo del Cielo (translated - ... This title is taken from an ancient Indian legend, which tells of the fall from the sky in this place of mysterious metal blocks.
Pieces of iron, according to the old Spanish chronicles, found here in the XVI century. The conquistadors used them for making swords and spears. Especially lucky to a certain de Miravalyu Ehrmann, who in 1576 in a rather dull place, among the swampy lowlands, stumbled upon a huge block of pure iron. The enterprising Spaniard dropped in several times to her and beat her to pieces for different needs. In 1783, the prefect of a province, Don Rubin de Celis, organized an expedition to the slab, and found it after a long search, has estimated its weight at about 15 tons. A detailed description of the object is not preserved, and since then it has not been seen, although attempts were made to find a block of more than once.
In 1803, in the vicinity of the Campo del Cielo meteorite found weighing about a ton. The largest fragment thereof (635 kg) in 1813 was taken to Buenos Aires. Later it was purchased by an Englishman, Sir Woodbine Derish and presented to the British Museum. This lump of cosmic iron still rests on a pedestal in front of the Museum. Part of the surface of a specially polished to show the structure of the metal with the so -called ...

In the Campo del Cielo, and its surroundings still find fragments of the iron keel weighing from a few grams to several tons. The largest weighed 33.4 tons. It was found in 1980 near the village of Gancedo American researcher Robert Haag Meteorites tried to buy it and take in the U.S., but it opposed the Argentine authorities. To date, this meteorite is the second largest among all detected on the Earth - after the so-called Hoba meteorite, weighing about 60 tons.
An unusually large number of meteorites found on a relatively small area suggests that once poured into this place ... Evidence that, besides the finds themselves objects of iron, is the large number of craters in the area of Campo del Celo. The largest of these is the multiplicity of Laguna Negra diameter of 115 meters and a depth of 5 meters.
A huge meteorite exploded in the atmosphere.
In 1961, the findings in the Campo del Cielo interested professor at Columbia University (USA), the world's leading expert on meteorites have. Cassidy. Organized their expedition found a large number of small metallic meteorites - geksaderitov, consisting of almost chemically pure iron (it is 96% of them, the rest - nickel, cobalt and phosphorus). Study of other meteorites found at different times in the area, has the same composition. According to scientists, this proves that they are fragments of a single celestial body. Cassidy also drew attention to the strange fact: usually in the explosion of a large meteorite in the atmosphere of its fragments fell to Earth, scattering ellipse with a maximum diameter of about 1600 meters. And at the Campo del Cielo is the length of the diameter of 17 kilometers!.
Published the preliminary findings of research Cassidy attracted interest around the world. To the scientist joined hundreds of volunteers and as a result of new fragments of meteoric iron were found even at a considerable distance from the Campo del Cielo, up to the Pacific coast.
Sputnik ...
But it turned out that the territory still finds extensive. An unexpected light on the history of the meteorite Campo del Cielo shed opening of Australia s. Here, in 1937, only 300 kilometers from the town of Hanbury. in the ancient crater of diameter 175 meters and a depth of about 8 meters found an iron meteorite weighing 82 pounds and several fragments of lower weight. In 1969 he conducted a study of their composition and found that these fragments are almost identical to the iron meteorites from Campo del Cielo.
Craters near Hanbury known since the 20s of last century. There are several dozen, the largest of which reaches 200 meters, but most are relatively small - from 9 to 18 meters. During the excavations carried out here since the 30s, was found in craters over 800 pieces of meteoric iron, of which - four of the one piece of the total mass of about 200 kilograms.
The final conclusion arrived at by Cassidy, was that a huge meteorite fell to Earth, but not sudden. Some time before his fall is a heavenly body revolved around the Earth in an elliptical orbit, gradually drawing closer to the planet.
In orbit could last a long time - a thousand years and more. However, under the force of gravity, this second moon in the end closer to the Earth so much that crossed the so-called Roche limit, and then entered the atmosphere and broke up into fragments of different sizes, which fell on the surface of the planet.
Echoes of ancient catastrophes.
Approximate date of the disaster was determined by radiocarbon analysis - came about 5800 years ago. Thus, the accident occurred is on record, in the IV millennium BC. e. When the ancient civilization began to emerge, who left behind written records. In them we find the mythological references to the second natural satellite of the planet and of the catastrophe caused by his fall.
For example, the Sumerian clay tablets describe the goddess Ina, crossed the sky and the glow emitted by a frightening. An echo of the same events is, apparently, the ancient Greek myth of Phaethon.
On the luminous celestial body mentioned Babylonian, Egyptian, Norse sources, the myths of the peoples of Oceania. English ethnologist J.. Fraser notes that of the 130 Indian tribes of Central and South America there is no one in the myths which have not reflected this theme.
... Papper - because metal meteorites are clearly visible in flight. Reflecting sunlight, they sparkle much brighter stony meteorites, but that the big car of pure iron, then its luminosity in the night sky was in its brightness greater than the luminosity of the Moon ...
Elliptical orbit at which the car was moving, implied in certain periods of the passage of the object close to the Earth. In this car came in contact with the upper layers of the atmosphere and glowed so much so that his brilliance was to be visible even in daylight. As the object came closer to our planet and its luminosity is increased, causing panic among the population. According to M. Pappera, orbit, which made it become hot car in contact with the earth's atmosphere, it moves away from it again to freeze in the icy cold of space, and led to the destruction it apart. Judging by the rather large territory in which the scattered fragments - from South America and Australia - car split in another orbit and the Earth's atmosphere came in the form of a string of separate fragments.
The car could cause the Flood.
The largest pieces, according to experts, fell into the Pacific Ocean, causing a wave of unprecedented proportions, which could circumvent the Earth. In the legends of the Amazon Indians tell us that the stars fell from the sky, there was a terrible roar and roar and everything was plunged into darkness, and then fell to the ground downpour that flooded the entire world. ... The darkness and the rain did not stop. People fled, not knowing where to hide, climbed the highest trees and mountains ... Brazilian legend echoes the fifth book of the Maya Code ... The world was collapsing '.
We are all of these tales are about the crash, accompanied by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and floods. The epicenter of it clearly was in the Southern Hemisphere, because the farther to the north is changing the nature of myths. Legends tell us only about the severe flooding. This event, apparently, is preserved in the memory of the Sumerians and Babylonians, and found its most vivid expression in the famous biblical myth of the Deluge.