The Nantan meteorite is about 4.5 billion years old (the same age as the Earth itself), although it only fell to earth about 500 years ago.
It weighs around 71kg, and is thought to be part of a much larger meteorite that fell to earth in 1516, landing in Nantan County, Guangixi, China. It was once part of the asteroid belt, a collection of rocky material that orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. The Museum has more than 200 meteorites in its collection – you can learn more about some of them here
