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from
The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 107
Aridal
017
Rio
de Oro, Western Sahara
Purchased: 2016 September
Mass: 590 g
Lunar
meteorite (feldspathic breccia)
History:
Found in Morocco in sandy soil, several meters from the find site for
Northwest Africa 10608 (which was found earlier by desert truffle hunters).
The stone was purchased by Dr. David Gregory in September 2016 from a
Moroccan dealer at the Denver Show.
Physical characteristics: A
single grayish stone (590 g) lacking fusion crust but with a glossy
external patina. The fresh interior consists of small whitish clasts in a
dark-gray matrix.
Petrography:
(A. Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS) Breccia composed of angular
mineral clasts of anorthite, olivine, orthopyroxene, pigeonite,
ferropigeonite, augite, silica polymorph, TI-chromite and ilmenite (with
rare inclusions of baddeleyite) in a fine grained matrix of the same
minerals plus minor kamacite, troilite and K-bearing glass.
Geochemistry:
Olivine (Fa10.1-27.0,
FeO/MnO = 74-106, N = 3), orthopyroxene (Fs20.9Wo4.5,
FeO/MnO = 51), pigeonite (Fs21.7Wo, FeO/MnO = 54),
ferropigeonite (Fs63.1Wo18.5, FeO/MnO = 72), augite
(Fs17.3Wo40.5, FeO/MnO = 46), anorthite (An95.2-95.4Or0.5,
N = 2).
Classification:
Lunar (feldspathic regolith breccia). This stone was found at the
same place as Northwest Africa 10608 and probably is paired with it.
Specimens:
10.1 g including one polished endcut at UWB; 10.1 g at ROM; main mass with Gregory.
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