By Mohammed Al-Harbi

NEARLY 52 years ago, a National Geographic team visited a meteorite site called Wabar in the Empty Quarter, one of the most desolate places on earth, and documented the remnants of the spatial object that struck Saudi Arabia some four centuries ago.

During their visit in 1966, the team took rather high resolution pictures of the location, which are now shared by enthusiasts across social media platforms.

These pictures, taken by the magazine’s American photographer Thomas J. Abercrombie, were a focal point of interest to many research teams.

The top section of the space matter is currently on display at the National Museum of Saudi Arabia.

The 3.5-ton meteorite was initially discovered by British explorer John Philby in 1932 after the Bedouins gave him small pieces of rocks, which he realized were not from earth.

According to studies made by Abdulaziz Bin Laaboun, professor of geology at King Saud University, “it is estimated that Wobar struck earth nearly 400 years ago and was discovered during Philby’s exploration.”

Laaboun also said that the meteor incident is an incredible one. A meteorite striking earth is as powerful as a nuclear explosion, he added. — Al-Arabiya English