Description
Meteorite Collection, containing 3 Meteorites from Campo del Cielo, Nantan & North Africa
This Meteorite collection consists of sections meteorite from three well documented strewn fields. Each one of these meteorites has a quite different appearance and characteristics. Additionally they have come widely different locations in three different continents. This collection would make a fascinating addition to the collection for anyone interested in Meteorites and ‘things’ from ‘out of this world’.
The Nantan Meteorite is a 92% Iron alloy meteorite that was ‘rediscovered’ in 1958. This example, consists principally of iron but also has a 6.9% nickel content. Only 5% of meteorites are of the iron alloy type, making them rare and highly sought after. Thousands of witnesses saw it fell to earth in 1516 during the reign of Chinese Emperor Zhengde. This section of the Nantan meteorite was rediscovered in 1958.
The Campo del Cielo Meteorite comes from Chaco Province, Argentina. This is a Meteorite that struck this area of South America between 4000 and 6000 years ago. The Campo del Cielo Meteorite consists of 92.9% Iron and 6.7% Nickel. It originated in the Asteroid Belt between Jupiter and Mars.
North African Meteorite This comes from the Sahara Desert, in an area around Tindouf, Algeria. This one is part of Meteorite ‘NWA869’ with a weight of between 2 and 4 tons. It broke up as it entered the earths atmosphere and then scattered over a wide area. Although this was at some time during the last 10,000 years, its discovery was only in the past 20 years by Berber tribesmen.
Chondrite Meteorites get their name from chondrules, these are the small round particles of silicate material inside. Their original formation was within the solar nebular around 4.5 billion years ago.
Achondrites differ from chondrite meteorites because they don’t contain chondrules. These are also ancient rocks originating from various asteroids. A small number however appear to have come from the Moon and also from the planet Mars.
Iron Meteorites represent only 5% of all meteorites. These consist of iron-nickel alloys, including Kamacite and taenite. Rarer still are the stony-iron meteorites, these consist of iron-nickel metal and silicate minerals. These however make up only 1% of all meteorites found.
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