-40%
1.74 gram crusted Almahata Sitta 181 meteorite. CB. First tracked fall. 52g TKW
$ 2059.19
- Description
- Size Guide
Description
HI all!My name is Mark Lyon, and I’m a member of the International Meteorite Collectors Association, member number 6752. My business model is to buy in bulk and turn over inventory quickly (often through no-reserve auctions) giving you the best possible prices.
Although nobody complains about my meteorites, it has become clear to me that people were less enthusiastic about my pictures, so I’ve gotten myself a photographer to better show off the beauty and uniqueness of each piece I sell.
I hope you enjoy the new photos!
When you finish looking at this, please look at my other no reserve sales and auctions, and feel free to contact me if you don't see exactly what you are looking for.
Up for sale here is a 1.74 gram crusted end piece of the bencubbinite portion of Almahata Sitta. Amahata Sitta is already highly prized for being the first tracked fall from space, but this CB portion comes from the only bencubbinite piece, Almahata Sitta 181, which weighed only 52 grams after cut loss. That makes this the ultra rare portion of the ultra rare.
Here is what the Metbull has to say about it.
Almahata Sitta
Basic information
Name:
Almahata Sitta
This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name.
Abbreviation:
There is no official abbreviation for this meteorite.
Observed fall:
Yes
Year fell:
2008
Country:
Sudan
Mass:
3.95 kg
Classification
history:
Meteoritical Bulletin:
MB 96
(2009)
Ureilite, polymict, anomalous
Recommended:
Ureilite-an
[explanation]
This is 1 of 6 approved meteorites classified as Ureilite-an.
[show all]
Search for other:
Achondrites
,
Ureilites
Comments:
Coords are near center of strewnfield
Approved 11 Apr 2009
Revised 19 Dec 2015: Corrected shock stage
Writeup
Writeup from
MB 96:
Almahata Sitta
20
°
43.04
'
N, 32
°
30.58
'
E
(“Station 6” in Arabic), Nahr an Nil, Nubian Desert, Sudan
Fall: 7 October 2008, 05:46 h local time (UT+3)
Achondrite (ureilite, polymict, anomalous)
History:
On October 6, 2008, a small asteroid called 2008 TC
3
was discovered by the automated Catalina Sky Survey 1.5 m telescope at Mount Lemmon, Tucson, Arizona, and found to be on a collision course with Earth. Numerous astronomical observatories followed the object until it entered the Earth’s umbra at Oct. 7.076 UTC the next day. The astrometric position of 295 observations of 2008 TC
3
over the period Oct. 6.278 to Oct. 7.063 was used to calculate the approach trajectory over the impact location in northern Sudan. The object exploded at a high ~37 km altitude over the Nubian Desert, and as a result the meteorites are spread over a large area. A search was organized by the University of Khartoum on Dec. 2–9, led by P. Jenniskens (SETI Institute) and M. H. Shaddad (
Khartoum
).
Physical characteristics
: During the first expedition, 15 meteorites were found along the approach path of the asteroid, for a total weight of 563 g. A second field expedition, on Dec. 25–30, added 37 meteorites, for a total recovered weight of 3.95 kg, spread over an area of 28 × 5 km. The meteorites are dark, thinly crusted, and roundish in shape, ranging in size from 1–10 cm.
Petrography
(M. Zolensky,
JSC
, and A. Steele,
CIW
): The sample is a fine-grained, fragmental breccia with subrounded mineral fragments and olivine aggregates embedded in a cataclastic matrix of ureilitic material. Mineral fragments include polycrystalline olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, pigeonite and carbon-rich aggregates up to 0.5 mm in maximum dimension, kamacite, and troilite. The examined samples have considerable porosity; the pore walls are commonly coated by anhedral to euhedral crystals of low-Ca pyroxene (Fs
2
Wo
3
) and olivine (Fa
12–14
), and in some instances spherules of kamacite and botryoidal masses of troilite. Most olivine and pyroxene aggregates have interstitial silicates with Si-content that increases adjacent to metal grains. Some clasts consist of rounded pyroxene grains containing an abundant nanophase Fe-rich mineral. Aggregates of carbonaceous material are common and measure up to 0.5 mm—these contain fine-grained troilite and kamacite, the latter containing Si and P. The major carbon phase is graphite. Shock effects are not apparent.
Mineral compositions and geochemistry:
Low–Ca pyroxene: Fs
2
Wo
5
-Fs
17
Wo
4
, Cr
2
O
3
= 0.33–1.02 wt%; pigeonite: Fs
15
Wo
5
-Fs
18
Wo
11
, Cr
2
O
3
= 0.72–1.11 wt%), olivine (Fa
8–15
, CaO = 0.15–0.51 wt%, Cr
2
O
3
= 0.03– 1.58 wt%). Kamacite is Fe
0.92
Ni
0.08
-Fe
0.96
Ni
0.04
. Troilite contains up to 4.3 wt% Cr. Mineral grains exhibit no zoning.
Classification:
Achondrite (ureilite, polymict, anomalous). Anomalous features include lack of zoning of olivine, large size of carbonaceous aggregates, and overall fine-grained texture.
Type specimens:
Samples with masses ranging from a few to a few hundred grams for a total of 3.95 kg are on deposit at
Khartoum.
Data from:
MB96
Table 7
Line 1:
State/Prov/County:
Sudan, Nahr an Nil, Nubian Desert
Date:
05-Dec-2008
Latitude:
20°46.15N
Longitude:
32°17.96'E
Mass (g):
3.95 kg
Pieces:
47
Class:
Ureilite, polymict, anomalous
Shock stage:
S1
Weathering grade:
W0
Fayalite (mol%):
8-15
Ferrosilite (mol%):
2
Wollastonite (mol%):
4
Classifier:
M. Zolensky, JSC and A. Steele, CIW
Type spec mass (g):
3950
Type spec location:
Khartoum
Main mass:
Khartoum
Comments:
Debris from asteroid 2008 TC3