Optically stimulated luminescence techniques applied to the dating of the fall of meteorites in Morasko

Abstract Geological materials used for luminescence dating and associated with the fall of meteorites on the Earth’s surface are extremely rare. The Morasko region has gained fame over the past 100 years because of a cosmic catastrophe which took place there. After thousands of years, the remains of a large metal meteorite which fell in this area have been found. In this article, we would like to state whether it is possible, using luminescence methods, to determine the moment when the iron meteorite fell on the surface of the Earth. The material which was analysed consisted of meteorite crust layers – melt/fusion and “semi melt/fusion”, including sintered ones, along with the sediments surrounding the meteorite. The final results are connected with four objects of different sizes (large ones and small shrapnel – 261 kg, 34 kg, 970 g and 690 g). The obtained results show a large discrepancy, which is most likely associated with the problem of resetting the luminescence signal of the tested materials.