NWA 8306 Lunar Meteorite Slice Lunar (feldspathic, regolithic...
NWA 8306 Lunar Meteorite Slice Lunar (feldspathic, regolithic breccia) Sahara Desert, Northwest Africa This is a complete slice of a lunar meteorite-it is from a Moon rock that was ejected off the lunar surface following an asteroid impact. Moon rocks are identified by their mineralogy and chemistry-as well as a specific radiation fingerprint. Many of the more common minerals found on Earth are rare on the Moon and some minerals found on the Moon are not encountered on Earth. The complete slice now offered is a classic feldspathic breccia. It is composed of different fragments of rocks, minerals and other crushed rock cemented together by lunar soil that had melted during an asteroid impact prior to the impact that sent this Moon rock earthward. The most dominant inclusion is white anorthite. The rim of the meteorite's external surface is highly textured. The total known weight of the NWA 8306 meteorite is only 1,389 grams and this will forever be one of the few complete slices of this meteorite available. The cut surface evidences a galaxy of inclusions-one as large as an inch in diameter-the result of the ongoing pulverizing of the Moon's surface by impacts prior to the collision responsible for launching this rock off the lunar surface. The dark groundmass is regolith (lunar soil which had melted). The Moon is among the rarest substances on Earth and just 0.4% of all meteorites are of lunar origin. NWA 8306 was classified by Dr. Anthony Irving, among the world's foremost classifiers of specimens from the Moon and Mars. Overall Measurements: 5.5 x 4.33 x 0.1 inches (1.39 x 1.11 x 0.2 cm), weighs 78.6 grams
HID09710052018
© 2019 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
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NWA 8306 Lunar Meteorite Slice Lunar (feldspathic, regolithic breccia) Sahara Desert, Northwest Africa This is a complete slice of a lunar meteorite-it is from a Moon rock that was ejected off the lunar surface following an asteroid impact. Moon rocks are identified by their mineralogy and chemistry-as well as a specific radiation fingerprint. Many of the more common minerals found on Earth are rare on the Moon and some minerals found on the Moon are not encountered on Earth. The complete slice now offered is a classic feldspathic breccia. It is composed of different fragments of rocks, minerals and other crushed rock cemented together by lunar soil that had melted during an asteroid impact prior to the impact that sent this Moon rock earthward. The most dominant inclusion is white anorthite. The rim of the meteorite's external surface is highly textured. The total known weight of the NWA 8306 meteorite is only 1,389 grams and this will forever be one of the few complete slices of this meteorite available. The cut surface evidences a galaxy of inclusions-one as large as an inch in diameter-the result of the ongoing pulverizing of the Moon's surface by impacts prior to the collision responsible for launching this rock off the lunar surface. The dark groundmass is regolith (lunar soil which had melted). The Moon is among the rarest substances on Earth and just 0.4% of all meteorites are of lunar origin. NWA 8306 was classified by Dr. Anthony Irving, among the world's foremost classifiers of specimens from the Moon and Mars. Overall Measurements: 5.5 x 4.33 x 0.1 inches (1.39 x 1.11 x 0.2 cm), weighs 78.6 grams
HID09710052018
© 2019 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
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Time, Location
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