Meteorite exhibition inaugurated in Dhofar Governorate

Muscat: The Ministry of Heritage and Tourism has opened a gallery for exhibiting meteorites at the Museum of the Frankincense Land in the Governorate of Dhofar.

The exhibition, which runs until 18 September 2022, is the first one of its kind in the Sultanate of Oman. It is organized by the ministry as a means to highlight the importance of meteorites as a sustainable, diversified and renewable asset that can be invested to enhance heritage and tourism resources in various governorates of Oman.

The exhibition showcases a number of unique meteorites of special scholarly value, including the lunar meteorite (a rare meteorite found in 2002), the Martian meteorite and the Iron Meteorite.

The gallery also exhibits devices for the detection of meteorites in the Sultanate of Oman. With these, the ministry has been able to spot meteorites, the moment they enter Oman’s atmosphere, and determine their geographical location.

The opening ceremony was held under the auspices of Azzan Qasim Al Busaidi, Tourism Undersecretary, and attended by Khalid Salim Al Ghassani, Adviser at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, and Khalid Abdullah Al Abri, Director General of Heritage and Tourism in the Governorate of Dhofar, among other officials.

The chief guest launched a booklet titled “Meteorites in Oman”, which is a manual aimed to familiarize readers about meteorites found in Oman and efforts undertaken by the authorities concerned to protect them by applying standard practices in the domain.

---Ends/Bishara/Anas