00:00Meteorites that fall from space are considered treasures like the two meteorites that fell in the Philippines last year but were released to our country.
00:20Fortunately, this week, these were returned.
00:26Big news now all over the world!
00:29It is surprising that there is an asteroid that is the size of a house that can hit our planet in 2032.
00:39This is the Asteroid 2024-YR4, which is estimated to be 100 to 130 feet in size.
00:48There are reports that it has a similar impact to a nuclear detonation in the atmosphere.
00:54The big question now is, where can it hit?
00:59Will the Philippines be affected?
01:02If possible, this is not the first time that an asteroid has fallen in our country.
01:08In fact, there are 7 confirmed meteorites that hit our continent.
01:15The Pampanga Meteorite fell in 1859 in Mexico City, Pampanga.
01:21The Paitan Meteorite in Ilocos Sur in 1910.
01:25The Calivo Meteorite in Aclan in 1916.
01:29The Pantar Meteorite in Lanao del Norte in 1938.
01:34And the 2-million-year-old Bondoc Meteorite found in Bondoc Peninsula in Quezon Province in 1956.
01:44The Orconuma Meteorite in Oriental Mindoro in 2011.
01:49And the last on the list is the Pongo Meteorite that fell in Cagayan Valley in 2022.
01:57These meteorites went to different parts of the world.
02:02Some were displayed in museums, while others were hidden by private collectors.
02:07These meteorites came from a wide range of hot items.
02:12It also depends on the scientific value or if it has a history.
02:16There are meteorites that come from the moon.
02:18Sometimes it can reach from 1,000 to even 30,000 dollars per gram.
02:2230,000 is about 1.5 million pesos per gram.
02:25More than the value of this.
02:27But in the past few months, there was a group that was able to find two meteorites that fell in the Philippines.
02:36They were forced to return it to the country to reunite the seven Philippine meteorites.
02:43Will they succeed?
02:47A lot of people were shocked by these stones.
02:51The geologist and geoscientist Christian is one of them.
02:55He holds a fragment of four of the seven Philippine meteorites.
03:01The Orconuma Meteorite is part of his collection.
03:06This is what three farmers saw in Oriental Mindoro.
03:10In 2019, the first to be found here in KMJS were the farmers Erick, Fredo, and Edgar.
03:17They found a stone in a vacant lot in Barangay Orconuma in Bungabong, Oriental Mindoro in 2011.
03:26They believed that it was a meteorite.
03:29Later, they sold the stone to a meteorite collector from America, John Higgins, for only 580,000 pesos.
03:39What we received was only 580,000 pesos.
03:42Until they were told that the stone they found was in the meteoritic bulletin database of the international organization, the Meteoritic Society.
03:54The stone was confirmed to be a meteorite.
03:57But they were shocked by its true value.
04:01It's worth 8 million.
04:03We really wasted it.
04:06This stone is from the oldest and largest of the seven Philippine meteorites, the Bondoc Meteorite.
04:15Based on a study around 2.5 million years ago, it fell here in the Philippines.
04:20There were no people here in the Philippines at that time.
04:22It was only discovered in 1956.
04:24So when it was discovered, it was already vast.
04:27Christian also holds pieces of Pantar Meteorite that fell and were found in Pantar, Lanao del Norte.
04:35This is part of a small bottle of meteorite that fell into the mountains.
04:40Our team went to Pantar, Lanao del Norte in Mindanao.
04:44My father told his father that one day, the sky here in Pantar exploded.
04:50They didn't know what a meteor was, so they thought that the sky exploded.
04:55We are now here in a possible place where Pantar Meteorite fell.
04:59When the Pantar Meteor fell, it entered this place.
05:02People were afraid of where the light came from with the stone.
05:08Christian also holds a piece of the last documented meteorite, the Ponggong Meteorite.
05:14I acquired this 13-gram specimen from a relative of the finder.
05:19It was also registered in the National Commission for Culture and the Arts
05:24as the first Philippine meteorite that is considered a cultural property.
05:29Christian's collection of meteorites is placed in container boxes.
05:34When there is more than 70% humidity in the room temperature,
05:38we close the container box to reduce the chance of the meteorite spreading.
05:45But Christian still lacks three specimens of Philippine meteorites.
05:50He is still looking for them.
05:52Until now, one of these is the Calivum meteorite, which is heavy.
05:57It is estimated to weigh 2.4 kilos.
06:00And the Pampanga meteorite, which fell in 1859, is still in storage.
06:07We got the story from an old Spanish newspaper.
06:11I think the title is Ilustracion Filipina.
06:14In 1859, the entire Pampanga fell.
06:17It is said that there was a very loud sound.
06:19At the back of the Church of St. Monica, the meteorite fell.
06:24The meteorite that was recovered back then.
06:27That meteorite was awarded in Manila.
06:30It was given to the Governor General.
06:32From there, it was sent to Madrid.
06:34The Paitan meteorite, which is said to have fallen in the town of San Juan in Ilocos Sur in 1910.
06:42In 1910, the Helios comet appeared.
06:45They have a suspect that this stone is possibly from this comet.
06:50When the laboratory examined it, it was proven that it was not from the comet, but from an asteroid.
06:57Our team learned a lot.
07:16We have a barangay of 32.
07:19Here in San Juan.
07:21But we don't have a record of having a barangay here.
07:24The search for the three missing Philippine meteorites.
07:29The mission of Christian, Melvin, Allen, Abraham, and Hiro,
07:34who are based in Switzerland, is the Philippine Meteorite Repatriation Team.
07:40In our team, we have different professions.
07:43But we have one commonality.
07:45This is our passion for meteorites.
07:47I have been collecting meteorites for 5 to 8 years.
07:51I started collecting in 2005.
07:55Until 2023, Christian's group led the search for the Paitan meteorite that fell in Ilocos Sur in 1910.
08:05We learned that a German collector and scientist had a piece of Paitan meteorite.
08:12So we contacted this German collector.
08:15We negotiated to return the Paitan main mass.
08:19We also learned that it had a Pampanga meteorite specimen.
08:23The group also agreed that these were the meteorites they were looking for.
08:28We had to go deeper.
08:30Not only in the physical test, but also in the laboratory analysis.
08:34But the negotiation to return the Paitan and Pampanga meteorites to the Philippines became challenging.
08:42After a year, we talked to this German collector.
08:46Because he didn't want to let go.
08:48The German collector really wanted us to go personally.
08:53However, it wasn't ideal for the four of us to go to Germany.
08:58So we talked to our acquaintances in other countries.
09:02So they could represent us in retrieving these two meteorite specimens.
09:07After a few months of negotiations, the Paitan and Pampanga meteorites...
09:19...were finally returned to the Philippines.
09:22We waited for around 39 years to return the Paitan meteorite.
09:26And 165 years for the Pampanga meteorite.
09:30And in a rare opportunity, the Pampanga and Paitan meteorites...
09:35...along with the other four Philippine meteorite specimens...
09:39...were shown to the public this Saturday.
09:413, 2, 1...
09:45They were shown to the public at a mall in Pasig City.
10:01We allowed people to hold these meteorites...
10:04...because they won't be used for research.
10:07So they won't be contaminated.
10:09The experience has an impact on people.
10:12I was completely amazed...
10:14...since it was my first time to hold a meteorite.
10:19Among those who went to the exhibit...
10:22...was the Santa Monica Parish...
10:24...and the Tourism Office of Mexico Pampanga.
10:27Where it is said that the Pampanga meteorite fell.
10:30I am very proud...
10:32...because our country is known to the international community...
10:36...in the field of science.
10:38We will coordinate with them.
10:40There will be an exhibit in Mexico.
10:42For the longest time, 100 plus years...
10:44...we don't have specimens of this.
10:46Now, even ordinary Filipinos who are interested in meteorites...
10:49...will have a chance to see this in the Philippines.
10:52This is a good opportunity to revisit the Pampanga meteorite.
10:56To revisit the progress of scientific development...
10:59...in the whole country.
11:00We have a plan to donate to the National Museum...
11:03...because the National Museum is free access.
11:05So, if there is an exhibit...
11:07...more people will be able to see it.
11:09Meanwhile, the information in the news...
11:12...that the 7th Philippine Meteorite is missing...
11:15...is the Calivum meteorite...
11:17...that entered the newspaper in 1916...
11:20...that is still shining.
11:22The group is still looking for the names, the leads...
11:25...on the direction of our investigation.
11:29Let's go back to the reported asteroid...
11:32...that will hit our planet in 2032.
11:35Do we have anything to worry about?
11:38The probability that this asteroid will hit the Earth...
11:46...is around 3%.
11:47Even though there is a possibility...
11:49...there is nothing to be alarmed about...
11:51...because the chance that it will hit is very small.
11:54There are experts who estimate...
11:56...what they call the risk corridor...
11:59...where this asteroid can impact.
12:02As of now, the Philippines is not there.
12:05Just a few of the things that are in the news...
12:08...can also be considered...
12:11...stones in space...
12:13...that in hitting the Earth...
12:15...make history.
12:24Thank you for watching, Kapuso!
12:26If you liked this video...
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