Lot 1000
Meteorite Huge Stony End Piece With Cut Face. Most stony meteorites are small (less than 1 pound) because the larger stony meteorites usually break apart or explode before they contact the earth. This huge 5 x 4 x 4 inch 4.72 pound complete stony is one of the exceptions. It is designated as an unclassified NWA (North West Africa) stony meteorite and was found by nomadic Berbers in the sands of the Sahara desert of Morocco. It is an ordinary chondrite which means that it consists of round silicate grains that formed at the very beginning of the solar system 4.55 billion years ago from molten globs of accreted material that stuck together to form the asteroid from which this meteorite was blasted off when two asteroids collided. Of added importance is the presence of glissening flecks of iron throughout the meteorite and visible on the dark brown surface where the small iron flakes are reflective almost like micro diamonds. All stony meteorites contain iron and are designated as either low or high iron. This stony meteorite is medium to high iron with the iron and irregular shaped chondrites being quite distinct on the 2.75 x 2 inch cut and polished section as well as on the adjacent cut and polished face on one end of the meteorite. All of the rest of the meteorite is original just as found in the desert with a few cracks from the explosion and nearly complete thin dark brown fusion crust which occurred when the meteorite broke up and ablated at high temperature as it passed through the earth's atmosphere before contacting the ground. This meteorite looks as though it just landed on earth yesterday as most meteorites quickly become weathered from wind and rain but fortunately meteorites will retain their fusion crust for hundreds of years if they are buried in sand in a dessert.
Allow $20 for domestic shipping.
Estimated Value $950 - 1,250.
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