Hoba, the Giant Space Rock

 Hoba, the Giant Space Rock

Hoba is the biggest and heaviest meteorite ever found on Earth. It is a huge rock from outer space that landed in Namibia, a country in Africa.

But first, what is a meteorite?

A meteorite is a piece of rock or metal from space that travels through Earth’s sky and lands on the ground. Many space rocks burn up in the air as bright streaks of light called meteors. Hoba was strong and heavy enough to reach the ground.

A Very Heavy Visitor

Hoba is enormous. It is about as wide as a small room and shaped a little like a giant box.

It measures about:

• 2.7 metres long
• 2.7 metres wide
• 0.9 metres thick

Hoba is mostly made of iron, with some nickel and tiny bits of cobalt. It weighs more than 64 tons—that is heavier than many large elephants put together!

Soft Landing

Scientists think Hoba fell to Earth about 80,000 years ago. Usually, when a large space rock hits the ground, it makes a giant hole called a crater.

Hoba did not make a big crater.

Scientists think its flat, box-like shape helped slow it down as it travelled through the air. It was still moving very fast when it reached the ground, but it landed at an angle and did not dig a deep hole. Instead, it stayed almost exactly where it fell.

Found on a Farm

Hoba was discovered in 1920 by a farmer in Namibia. He was ploughing his field when he struck something hard and metallic. It was not an ordinary rock—it was a meteorite from space!

Hoba has never been moved. It still rests in the same place where it was found.

Protected for Everyone

When people first learned about Hoba, some took small pieces from it. This made the meteorite lighter and damaged it.

To protect Hoba, the government declared it a national monument in 1955. Later, a special visitor area was built around it. Today, visitors can see the giant space rock safely from seats arranged like a small outdoor theatre.

Hoba is an amazing reminder that pieces of outer space can sometimes come all the way down to Earth.