L4/5 Common Chondrite Meteorite with Fusion Crust – Certified North African Space Rock

All of our Meteorites are 100% Genuine Specimens & come with a Certificate of Authentication

Name: L4/5 Common Chondrite

Specimen: Meteorite

Location: North Africa

Size (picture scale cube=1cm): 20 x 12 x 28mm (0.79 x 0.47 x 1.1 inches)

Weight: 8.4g

These meteorites are classed as grade L Chondrites, these have Low total iron contents (including 7–11% Fe-Ni metal by mass), making them show little, to no, magnetic properties. Around 46% of ordinary chondrite falls belong to this group, which makes them the most common type of meteorite to fall on Earth.

Visible on the fragment is a black fusion crust; when it fell at great speeds the exterior of the meteorite became very hot, melting it and forming the crust. When cut in half and polished you can see the interior structure: many dark-coloured clasts, white inclusions rich in calcium-magnesium silicate and oxide minerals, and mm-sized lighter coloured chondrules. Unlike many other chondrites, Allende is almost completely lacking in Fe-Ni metal.

These Meteorites have been found by a Berber Nomad in North Africa, and are in their original ‘as found’ condition. The meteorite comes in a display box.

It has been demonstrated that over 300 tonnes of meteorites land on the Earth every day: needless to say, most of these never reach the attention of meteorologists. Those that do are carefully examined to establish their broad classification (chondrite, achondrite, stony iron, iron etc). Any that ‘show promise’ are scrutinised more carefully to ascertain their lithology, age, degree of weathering etc.

Ultimately, the testing laboratory (The Natural History Museum in the UK) will assign a name and publish a description. The name generally refers to the region or nearest town to the location of the fall or find.

The majority of stone meteorites fall into the category of ‘Common Chondrite’. These are ancient stony objects that formed within the solar disc about 4.5 billion years ago and which are by far the most frequently discovered ‘space rocks’. Many of these are found in large ‘strewnfields’ in the North Western Sahara. While waiting for a full examination/description, these are referred to as unclassified NWA Meteorites (North West Africa Meteorites).

**The items image shows the actual specimen you will receive**