Description: Ultra rare Martian Augite Basalt meteorite NWA 8159. This large 0.315g piece is a must have for the serious Martian meteorite type collector. The total known weight of this single stone find was only 149g and does not fit into the main SNC Martian meteorite classification types. NWA 8159 is distinct in its petrology, bulk composition, and mineralogy from all other known samples from Mars. It was formed in a unique source region and is incredibly important to science in understanding the planet Mars and it's history. Meteorite authenticity 100% guaranteed. International Meteorite Collectors Association (IMCA) Member #3659 & Meteoritical Society Member. COA card, previous provenance (ex M. Lyon) and display box included. Enjoy this great addition to your collection! Below is the official Meteoritical Bulletin database entry: Northwest Africa 8159Basic informationName: Northwest Africa 8159 This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name. Abbreviation: NWA 8159 Observed fall: No Year found: 2013 Country: Morocco Mass: 149.4 g Classification history:Meteoritical Bulletin: MB 102 (2013) Martian (augite basalt)Recommended: Martian (augite basalt) [explanation] This is the only approved meteorite classified as Martian (augite basalt). Search for other: Martian meteorites Comments:Approved 10 Dec 2013WriteupWriteup from MB 102: Northwest Africa 8159 (NWA 8159)MoroccoPurchased: 2013Classification: Martian (augite basalt)History: Purchased by Brahim Tahiri from a Moroccan hunter and sent to his partner Sean Tutorow for classification in 2013.Physical characteristics: Single stone, weathered exterior with yellow-brown patina, light colored desert soil coating on one side. Saw cut reveals a very fine-grained, gray-green interior, with a few small melt veins present, but one vein was up to 1 mm thick, lithology offsets at vein boundaries suggest slight brecciation.Petrography: (C. Agee, UNM) Microprobe examination of a two polished mounts shows intergranular texture with approximately 50% augite, 40% plagioclase and maskelynite, 5% olivine. Augites have equant habits 10-200 μm with igneous zoning. Some augite crystals are rimmed with Fs-rich orthopyroxene. Plagioclase with shock-fractured prismatic laths up to 500 × 100 μm, but many are smaller (~50 × 10 μm), approximately half of the plagioclase has been converted to maskelynite, and is observed as unfractured, glassy casts. Olivine ~100 μm, most with resorbed or coronal grain boundaries. Ubiquitous magnetite, most grains 10-100 μm. Minor ilmenite, merrillite, Cl-apatite, and Cr-spinel. Trace calcite and barite assumed to be desert weathering products.Geochemistry: (C. Agee, N. Muttik, F. McCubbin, UNM) EMPA. Augite Fs38.6±11Wo30.4±11.0, Fe/Mn=36±4, n=78; orthopyroxene rims Fs62.3±5.9Wo0.6±0.3, Fe/Mn=23±3, n=6; plagioclase An58.2±2.3Ab41.5±2.4Or0.3±0.2, n=7; maskelynite An58.1±1.8Ab41.6±1.7Or0.2±0.0, n=5; olivine Fa66.2±3.8, Fe/Mn=50±5, n=15; large shock melt vein (mean value from EMPA with 20 μm beam) SiO2=46.14±0.94, TiO2=0.67±0.09, Al2O3=10.63±1.22, Cr2O3=0.14±0.02, FeO=24.89±1.92, MnO=0.50±0.04, MgO=4.02±0.39, CaO=9.10±0.38, Na2O=1.80±0.17, P2O5=0.29±0.03, Cl=0.067±0.022 (all wt%), n=10. (Karen Ziegler, UNM) Oxygen isotope values of 5 acid-washed aliquots of bulk sample, 1.2, 1.2, 1.8, 2.0, 1.0 mg, gave δ17O = 2.406, 2.405, 2.093, 2.532, 2.329, δ18O = 4.089, 3.947, 3.328, 4.197, 3.880, Δ17O = 0.247, 0.321, 0.336, 0.316, 0.280 (linearized, all permil).Classification: Martian (augite basalt). This is a martian meteorite based on oxygen isotopes, Fe/Mn of augite and olivine, and An-content of plagioclase and maskelynite. This martian meteorite is a fine grained olivine-bearing augite basalt that does not appear to be a SNC type although there are some aspects of it that resemble SNC. The augite and olivine compositions and crystallization trends are similar to nahklites, in particular MIL 03346. It does not resemble most shergottites in that pigeonite is absent, and orthopyroxene is only a minor phase present as Fe-rich rims on some augite grains, however plagioclase compositions are similar to shergottites, in particular the low potassium labradorites in QUE 94201. Shock pressures appear to have been lower than for shergottites, perhaps similar to Chassigny and some nakhlites, as only about half the plagioclase has been transformed to maskelynite. Magnetite is the dominant oxide phase in this meteorite, the only other martian meteorite that shares this aspect is basaltic breccia NWA 7034 and its pairings.Specimens: 24.57 g including a two probe mounts on deposit at UNM, Reed holds 2.21 g, Sean Tutorow holds the main mass.Data from: MB102 Table 0 Line 0:Place of purchase:MoroccoDate:P 2013Mass (g):149.39Pieces:1Class:Martian (augite basalt)Classifier:C. Agee, UNMType spec mass (g):24.57Type spec location:UNMMain mass:Sean TutorowComments:Submitted by C. Agee
Price: 1349 USD
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
End Time: 2024-11-16T04:43:56.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
