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NWA7187

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L3

Country

Year found

2011

Mass

480 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 24.0g  

History: Purchased by Eric Twelker in September 2011 from a Moroccan dealer at the Denver Show. Petrography: (A. Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS) Fresh specimen composed of closely packed, well-formed chondrules (apparent diameter mostly 1.2±0.9 mm, one 4 mm) in a matrix containing a moderate amount of fresh metal grains, troilite, chlorapatite and merrillite. Some chondrules have multiple thick dust rims. Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa0.5-35.3; Cr2O3 in ferroan olivine 0.02-0.08 wt.%, mean 0.04±0.02 wt.%, N = 7), orthopyroxene (Fs4.9-20.5Wo0.4-1.5, N = 3), clinopyroxene (Fs6.8-6.9Wo38.1-45.3, N = 2). Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L3). Specimens: 27.4 g including one polished thin section at UWB; the remainder is held by welker.

NWA7402

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L3.1

Country

Year found

2010

Mass

4.01 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 158.5g   (2) 49.5g   (3) 19.5g   (4) 12.3g

(5) 12.2g   (6) 9.9g   (7) 6.1g   (8) 4.8g   (9)4.5g

History: NWA 7402 was purchased on August 26, 2010, by Eric Twelker from a meteorite trader in Morocco. Physical characteristics: A 4013.4 g individual stone, with fusion crust intact and partially rusted. Rust-colored, apparently weathered areas with orange-brown chondrules surround less-weathered regions containing light-gray chondrules set within a darker gray groundmass. The meteorite is a breccia, with occasional clasts of different lithologies present (up to ~5 mm width). The transition from weathered to unweathered lithology is abrupt, and does not correlate with clast boundaries. Petrography: (C. E. Jilly-Rehak, UH) Transmitted and reflected light optical microscopy reveal a high abundance of chondrules embedded in a clastic, sulfide-rich matrix. Chondrules range from ~0.2 - 2 mm in apparent diameter, and an anomalously large barred olivine chondrule of 8 mm exists in one thin section. Chondrule types found in the meteorite include porphyritic olivine, barred olivine, porphyritic pyroxene, radial pyroxene, and cryptocrystalline. The porphyritic olivine chondrules comprise both type I (Fa<2) and type II (Fa10-25). Fine-grained FeO-rich silicate rims are observed surrounding some (but not all) chondrules. The rims are typically embedded with μm-sized Fe sulfides. The matrix contains abundant Fe,Ni metal and sulfides, as well as chondrule fragments and isolated silicate grains. Large opaque assemblages (~300 μm in diameter) are found in the matrix, containing both kamacite and taenite, Fe sulfides, and Fe oxides. Optical microscopy reveals moderate shock and weathering, corresponding to maximum stages S2 and W2, respectively. The studied sections do not contain any calcium-aluminum inclusions (CAIs), although one aluminous chondrule was found. The pre-weathering metal abundance could have been up to 10.7 wt%, placing the meteorite in the L-chondrite range, also in agreement with the magnetic susceptibility. Geochemistry: Olivine is highly variable in composition, ranging from Fa<1 to Fa36 (mean, Fa12.9±8.7, N=102). Low-Ca pyroxene is Fs8.4±7.6 (N=71). Cr2O3 in 140 ferroan olivine grains is = 0.41±0.13 wt.%. Separated matrix material (15 wt%). Specimens: The main mass of NWA 7402 (3987.9 g) is held by Twelker. The type specimen (25.5 g) is held at UNM.

NWA7428

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L6-melt breccia

Country

Year found

2012

Mass

1830 g

[Museum Collection]

(1)8.5g

History: Purchased by Matt Morgan in Tucson 2012. Physical characteristics: Single stone, dark, shiny, fusion-crusted exterior, some vesicles, moderate desert oxidation. Saw cut shows dark-colored melt vein up to 5 cm wide containing numerous partially melted, oval shaped, chondrite clasts. Veins bounded by light brown chondrite lithology. Fine grained metal grains evenly distributed throughout the sample. Petrography: (C. Agee, UNM) Microprobe examination of a polished mount shows two main lithologies: 1) melt zones clogged with numerous rafted and partially melted PO and POP chondrules and chondrite matrix clasts, and suspended fine troilite blebs; 2) an unmelted, equilibrated, protogranular chondrite texture, with olivine, pyroxene, plagioclase, kamacite, troilite, and chromite; no distinct chondrules observed in the unmelted lithology. Geochemistry: (C. Agee and M. Spilde, UNM) EMPA. Olivine Fa25.2±0.3, Fe/Mn=50±2, n=10; orthopyroxene Fs21.5±0.2Wo1.5±0.4, Fe/Mn=30±1, n=5; plagioclase Or12.2±0.3Ab72.4±0.1An15.4±0.4, n=2. Classification: L6-melt breccia, weathering grade W2. Specimens: 116 g including a probe mount on deposit at UNM. MtMorgan holds the main mass.

NWA7813

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L3

Country

Year found

2013

Mass

510 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 8.75g   (2) 6.01g   (3) 4.28g   (4) 9.80g

(5) 2.53g   (6) 4.15g

History: Purchased by M. Cimała from a Moroccan dealer in January 2013. Petrography: (A. Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS) Closely packed and well-formed chondrules (0.5-1.9 mm in diameter). Minerals are olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, sodic plagioclase, altered kamacite, troilite, chromite and taenite. Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa1.8-29.5; Cr2O3 content in ferroan olivine = 0.03 ± 0.01 wt.%, N = 5), orthopyroxene (Fs2.8-19.6Wo0.3-1.8, N = 3), clinopyroxene (Fs3.1-5.9Wo38.7-45.7). Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L3). Specimens: A total of 24 g of material and one polished thin section are on deposit at UWB. M. Cimała holds the main mass.

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L4

Country

Year found

2012

Mass

1639 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 52.6g

This is 1 of 2022 approved meteorites (plus 4 unapproved names) classified as L4. Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 102, MAPS 50, 1662, September 2015

NWA8008
NW8325

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L6

Country

Year found

2013

Mass

784 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 20.23g

This is 1 of 12396 approved meteorites (plus 8 unapproved names) classified as L6. Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 103, MAPS 52, 1014, May 2017

NWA8355

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L3

Country

Year found

2014

Mass

680 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 5.36g

History: Purchased by Marcin Cimała in February 2014 from a Moroccan dealer. Petrography: (A. Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS) Closely-packed, medium-sized (apparent diameter 600±200 μm), well-formed chondrules. Minerals are olivine, orthopyroxene, subcalcic augite, sodic plagioclase, altered kamacite, troilite, chromite and taenite. Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa15.8-25.5, N = 5; Cr2O3 content of ferroan olivine

NWA8646

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L3

Country

Year found

2009

Mass

1590 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 51g

History: One large individual partly covered with fusion crust was bought on a mineral market in Erfoud, Morocco. Physical characteristics: The meteorite displays a grayish to slightly brownish interior and contains abundant, sharply defined chondrules with a large variety of textural types. Chondrule mean diameter is about 0.7 mm.

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