9.13g Lunar Meteorite Prism Shaped I NWA 14041
On Offer: 9.13 gram triangular prism shaped piece of a lunar meteorite, of the type feldspathic breccia. All sides but one have been polished to allow for an exceptional interior view of the clasts and matrix. The side that was not polished was left as it was found, with only minor cleaning.
Dimensions: 26mm x 18mm
Official name: NWA 14041
Type: Lunar Feldspathic Breccia
Year Found: 2021
Country: Mali
The story: Our Moon takes a lot of hits. This is evidenced by the millions of craters that cover the moon's surface. Thankfully the bombardments have slowed down considerably in the last few hundred thousand years, but they still do occur from time to time. Lunar meteorites are material ejected from our Moon's surface when it gets hit by a meteorite. If the impact has enough energy, some of the ejecta gets thrown so far it escapes the Moon's gravity becoming meteoroids hurtling through space. Some of those lunar meteoroids have the potential to eventually fall into Earth's gravity well and go screaming through the atmosphere to hit the surface. Once they hit the Earth's surface, they earn the designation of being a meteorite. Much later, perhaps thousands of years later, an even smaller fraction of the meteorites that didn't fall into the oceans or onto unrecoverable terrain, are recovered by nomads and others who happen to find them. Nothing short of miraculous odds. To describe them as rare, is perhaps an understatement.
Northwest Africa 14041 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic information |
Name: Northwest Africa 14041 This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name. Abbreviation: NWA 14041 Observed fall: No Year found: 2021 Country: Mali Mass: 11.7 kg |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Classification history: |
This is 1 of 240 approved meteorites classified as Lunar (feldsp. breccia). [show all] Search for other: Lunar meteorites |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Comments: | Approved 6 Jul 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Writeup |
Writeup from MB 110:
Northwest Africa 14041 (NWA 14041) Mali Purchased: 2021 Feb Classification: Lunar meteorite (feldspathic breccia) History: Found in Mali by camel shepherds in January 2021 and subsequently purchased in Algeria by Ahmed Salek. Petrography: (A. Irving, UWS and P. Carpenter, WUSL) Breccia composed of mineral clasts of anorthite, olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, pigeonite, exsolved pigeonite and minor Ti-chromite set in a fine grained matrix containing minor secondary calcite and a K-Ca-bearing zeolite phase. Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa29.0-51.5, FeO/MnO = 99-102, N = 4), low-Ca pyroxene (Fs23.3Wo3.7, FeO/MnO = 60), pigeonite (Fs32.6-68.1Wo8.7-19.5, FeO/MnO = 52-75, N = 4), pigeonite host (Fs42.0Wo10.4, FeO/MnO = 66), augite exsolution lamella (Fs22.1Wo40.6, FeO/MnO = 71), anorthite (An90.8-96.0Or0.1, N = 3). Classification: Lunar (feldspathic breccia). Specimens: 23.6 g in the form of a polished endcut at UWB; remainder with Mr. A. Salek. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Data from: MB110 Table 0 Line 0: |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Institutions and collections |
UWS: University of Washington, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, 70 Johnson Hall, Seattle, WA 98195, United States (institutional address; updated 15 Jan 2012) WUSL: Washington Univ., One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, United States (institutional address; updated 17 Oct 2011) UWB: University of Washington, Box 353010 Seattle, WA 98195, United States (institutional address; updated 27 Jul 2012) |
We Also Recommend