Lot 992
Famous Martian Meteorite. Zagami is a very famous single 40 pound Martian meteorite that fell Oct. 3, 1962 and nearly struck a farmer tending his fields in Nigeria. Meteorites are named after towns or geological formations such as a large rock named Zagami that was about .75 mile from this fall. The fresh black meteorite was found at the bottom of a two foot crater. Even though the interior of Zagami is a light cream color, the fusion crust was a black color from the intense heat of passing through earth’s atmosphere. Zagami has been identified as originating from Mars through analysis of its isotopic signatures of nitrogen, argon and zenon gases from mm sized pockets contained within shock melted glass. These isotopes match perfectly with the Viking spacecraft’s analysis of the Martian atmosphere. It is classified as a shergottite which means that is composed of igneous rocks from the Martian surface and crystallized on Mars about 150-200 million years ago and was blasted off the surface of Mars when a really large meteorite slammed into Mars several million years ago. This specimen is 12 x 11 mm weighing .8gram and is light colored with flecks of reflected shocked melted glass. It is preserved in a special membrane box that enables it to be viewed from all sides.
Add $15 for domestic shipping.
Estimated Value $800 - 1,200.
|
| |
| Unsold |
