The International Year of Astronomy 'Meteorite' Five Dollar Coin was issued in 2009 to commemorate the 400th anniversary
of Galileo's use of a telescope. The reverse of the coin was designed
by Wojciech Pietranik and shows the artists impression of iconic places Mt Fuji in Japan, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the
Statue of Liberty in New York, the Sydney Opera House and Parliament House in Australia, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy,
a Maoi statue on Easter Island, Stonehenge in England, Egyptian Pyramids, the Taj Mahal in India, Golden Gate Bridge in USA,
Saint Basil's Cathedral in Russia, a Mesoamerican pyramid in Mexico, a radio telescope at Parkes Observatory and Uluru in
Australia. These images are spaced around the perimeter of the coin interspersed with heads looking skywards to the stars.
In the centre of the design are pieces of a meteorite. Around the outside of the coin is the
legend
INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY 2009. The obverse features the traditional
Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, right-facing with tiara and earrings. It also contains the
legend
ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2009 5 DOLLARS.
The Meteorite was chosen for the International Year of Astronomy and the segments depicted in the coin were part of the
Campo del Cielo (field of heaven) meteorite shower. This meteorite shower fell to Earth around 4,000 years agoin the area
of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The shower composition was of mainly iron with traces of nickel, cobalt andphosphorous. There
are many meteor showers falling to Earth, one of which is The Geminids. This meteor shower is debris from an extinct comet,
and is considered the most spectacular of the annual meteor showers, though they are often overshadowed by the Perseids shower,
which occurs during August. At its peak The Geminids can reach up to 100 meteors an hour, and are sometimes colourful. Geminids
are also known for their fireball meteors
(NASA, 2013)
.
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