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Aba Panu

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L3

Country

Year found

2018

Mass

160 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 128g   (2) 201.5g   (3) 170.8g   (4) 153.3g

(5) 113.6g   (6) 80.9g   (7) 28.0g   (8) 27.9g

(9) 8.1g   (10) 7.3g   (11) 6.6g   (12) 6.6g

(13) 6.5g   (14) 6.2g   (15) 5.1g

History: On the afternoon of 19 April 2018, a large fireball detonated over the Nigerian state of Oyo. This fireball was recorded by NASAs Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) as event 2018-04-19 14:02:27. The meteoroid entered at 20.9 km/s and detonated at an altitude of 30 km at 7.5’N, 3.6’E releasing a calculated total impact energy of 0.23 kt. Many stones fell between the villages of Ipapo (8°7’50.84"N, 3°30’34.58"E) and Tede to the north (8°33’21.49"N, 3°26’46.31"E). Stone were collected at multiple locations. The meteorite is named for the village of Aba Panu near the center of the strewn-field: multiple kg-sized stones were found in and around this village. Current total known weight is near 160 kg. Physical characteristics: The stones are hard, range from 30 g to near 40 kg, rounded with broad poorly developed regmaglypts, and largely lacking fusion crust. Fusion crust is occasionally preserved within the shallow regmaglypts. Most stones are greyish green and show areas of rounded to angular light-colored clasts. Largest clast (5 × 2 cm) is angular, fine-grained, and achondritic. Observations from multiple slices show that clasts constitute roughly

Acfer 019

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L6

Country

Year found

1989

Mass

581 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 24.1g

This is 1 of 12627 approved meteorites (plus 8 unapproved names) classified as L6. Search for specimens in the Smithsonian Institution collection (U.S.): Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 69, Meteoritics 25, 237-239 (1990)

Name

*click on the Name for more information

Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L6

Country

Year found

1976 or 1977

Mass

407 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 0.39g

This is 1 of 12627 approved meteorites (plus 8 unapproved names) classified as L6. Search for specimens in the Smithsonian Institution collection (U.S.): Search for this meteorite in the NIPR database (Japan): Search for this meteorite in the NASA/JSC database (U.S.): Published in Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter 1(3) (1978), JSC, Houston Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 56, Meteoritics 14, 161-175 (1979) Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 76, Meteoritics 29, 100-143 (1994)

Allan Hills A76009
Bayin Gobi 001

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L5

Country

Year found

2015

Mass

35 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 8.6g

History: On May 1, 2015, Xueming Tang, a Chinese amatuer, and his companions found this sample in the Bayin Gobi desert. He then sent a 20 g sample, cut from the main rock, to GUT for classification and description. The finder retained the main mass. Physical characteristics: Total mass: 35 kg (1 piece), no fusion crust, black-brown surface, smoky-gray colored interior. Petrography: The meteorite consists mainly of a medium-grained granular aggregate of olivine, low-Ca pyroxene and feldspar, with minor amounts of Fe-Ni alloy and troilite. The chondrules are moderately abundant and are readily defined. Geochemistry: Minerals are uniform. Olivine: Fa=26.1±0.7 (n=12); low-Ca pyroxene: Fs=21.9±0.3Wo=1.6±0.3 (n=11). Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L5); S2; W1. Specimens: About 20 g sample and one thin sections are deposited in GUT.

Bechar 001

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L6

Country

Year found

1998

Mass

39 kg

This is 1 of 12396 approved meteorites (plus 8 unapproved names) classified as L6. Search for this meteorite in the Natural History Museum collection (U.K.): Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 83, MAPS 34, A169-A186 (1999)

[Museum Collection]

(1) 3.35g

Benenitra

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L6

Country

Year found

2018

Mass

20 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 48.21g

History: Reports of a meteor that detonated in a loud explosion, and stones falling from the sky into the town of Benenitra (pop. ~30,000) on the evening of July 27, 2018, were received by a visiting geologist, Timothy Marais, on July 30, 2018. He was shown photographs and several small fragments, two of which he purchased, weighing 99 and 14 g. Roger Gibson and Lewis Ashwal in the School of Geosciences at the University of the Witwatersrand confirmed a meteorite origin for these specimens using petrographic analysis and EMPA. Confirmation of the date and time of the fall was obtained independently when an upper atmosphere infrasound event was identified on a bearing south-southwest of the CTBTO station IS33 near Antananarivo, Madagascar, at 17h16 GMT on July 27 by Dr. Andry Ramanantsoa (Laboratory of Seismology and Infrasound, University of Antananrivo). A weak ground tremor at approximately 17h17 GMT was identified in the data from the seismograph at the Sakaraha (SKRH) station approximately 80 km northwest of Benenitra by Dr Ranto Raveloson (Wits), and was interpreted to be related to the airburst. Magnetic susceptibility measurements were performed by Prof. Susan Webb (Wits). Physical characteristics: Two broken fragments containing small remnants of bluish-black to brown-black fusion crust and weighing 14 g and 82 g (after thin sectioning) consist of a light-gray matrix with disseminated metal (<1 mm) and some visible chondrules (<5 mm). The edge of the larger fragment, which contains a thin (

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L6

Country

Year found

2001

Mass

19 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 77.0g  (2) 14.51g

This is 1 of 12549 approved meteorites (plus 8 unapproved names) classified as L6. Search for this meteorite in the Museo Nazionale dell'Antartide database (Siena, Italy): Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 87, MAPS 38, A189-A248 (2003)

Beni M'hira
Catalina 010

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L5

Country

Year found

2010

Mass

329 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 3.6g

This is 1 of 8842 approved meteorites (plus 4 unapproved names) classified as L5. Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 102, MAPS 50, 1662, September 2015

Catalina 324

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L5

Country

Year found

2017

Mass

695 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 3.9g

This is 1 of 8842 approved meteorites (plus 4 unapproved names) classified as L5. Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 108 (2020) Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 55, 1146-1150

Chico

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L6

Country

Year found

1954

Mass

104.8 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 40.8g   (2) 18.9g

This is 1 of 12396 approved meteorites (plus 8 unapproved names) classified as L6. Search for specimens in the Smithsonian Institution collection (U.S.): Search for this meteorite in the Natural History Museum collection (U.K.): Search for this meteorite in the Museo Nazionale dell'Antartide database (Siena, Italy): Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 8, Moscow (1958)

Clifford

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L6

Country

Year found

1962

Mass

11.36 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 20.70g

This is 1 of 12396 approved meteorites (plus 8 unapproved names) classified as L6. Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 84, MAPS 35, A199-A225 (2000)

Dalgety Downs

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L4

Country

Year found

1941

Mass

257 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 7.0g  (2) 7.6g

This is 1 of 2058 approved meteorites (plus 4 unapproved names) classified as L4. Search for specimens in the Smithsonian Institution collection (U.S.): Search for this meteorite in the Natural History Museum collection (U.K.): Search for this meteorite in the Museo Nazionale dell'Antartide database (Siena, Italy): Never published in the Meteoritical Bulletin

Dhofar 505

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L5

Country

Year found

2000

Mass

375 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 9.9g

This is 1 of 8842 approved meteorites (plus 4 unapproved names) classified as L5. Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 87, MAPS 38, A189-A248 (2003)

Dhofar 546

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L5

Country

Year found

2001

Mass

777 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 42.2g

This is 1 of 8842 approved meteorites (plus 4 unapproved names) classified as L5. Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 88, MAPS 39, A215-A272 (2004)

Dhofar 547

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L5

Country

Year found

2001

Mass

514 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 71.4g

This is 1 of 8842 approved meteorites (plus 4 unapproved names) classified as L5. Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 88, MAPS 39, A215-A272 (2004)

Dhofar 1289

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L4

Country

Year found

2004

Mass

37 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 46.2g

This is 1 of 2051 approved meteorites (plus 4 unapproved names) classified as L4. Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 90, MAPS 41, 1383-1418 (2006)

Dhofar 1867

Name

*click on the Name for more information

Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L~5

Country

Year found

2003

Mass

3.53 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 12.8g

History: Discovered on a desert expedition on March 2, 2003. Physical characteristics: 63 dark brown fragments, in total 3525 g. Magnetic susceptibility log χ = 4.62. Petrography: (R. Bartoschewitz, Bart) chondritic rounded clasts and mineral fragments set in a very fine-grained recrystallized matrix containing spheroidal grains of metal. Olivine shows mosaicism and recrystallization, feldspar is transformed to maskelynite. Geochemistry: (R. Bartoschewitz, Bart, P. Appel and B. Mader, Kiel) Olivine: Fa16.1 (Fa14.0-21.3, n=48); low-Ca pyroxene: Fs15.6Wo0.9 (Fs12.8-30.4Wo0.3-2.6, n=34). Kamacite Ni 6.6-8.0, Co 0.6 wt.% (n=9). Classification: Ordinary chondrite, melt breccia with clasts of different petrologic stages (H4-5, shock stage S6) Specimens: 20.5 g on deposit at Kiel, main mass anonymous

El Hassan Ould Hamed 002

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L4

Country

Year found

2021

Mass

5.45 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 135g

History: Reports of a meteor that detonated in a loud explosion, and stones falling from the sky into the town of Benenitra (pop. ~30,000) on the evening of July 27, 2018, were received by a visiting geologist, Timothy Marais, on July 30, 2018. He was shown photographs and several small fragments, two of which he purchased, weighing 99 and 14 g. Roger Gibson and Lewis Ashwal in the School of Geosciences at the University of the Witwatersrand confirmed a meteorite origin for these specimens using petrographic analysis and EMPA. Confirmation of the date and time of the fall was obtained independently when an upper atmosphere infrasound event was identified on a bearing south-southwest of the CTBTO station IS33 near Antananarivo, Madagascar, at 17h16 GMT on July 27 by Dr. Andry Ramanantsoa (Laboratory of Seismology and Infrasound, University of Antananrivo). A weak ground tremor at approximately 17h17 GMT was identified in the data from the seismograph at the Sakaraha (SKRH) station approximately 80 km northwest of Benenitra by Dr Ranto Raveloson (Wits), and was interpreted to be related to the airburst. Magnetic susceptibility measurements were performed by Prof. Susan Webb (Wits). Physical characteristics: Two broken fragments containing small remnants of bluish-black to brown-black fusion crust and weighing 14 g and 82 g (after thin sectioning) consist of a light-gray matrix with disseminated metal (<1 mm) and some visible chondrules (<5 mm). The edge of the larger fragment, which contains a thin (

Name

*click on the Name for more information

Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L6

Country

Year found

2016

Mass

1666 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 65g

This is 1 of 12401 approved meteorites (plus 8 unapproved names) classified as L6. Published in Gattacceca J., Bouvier A., Grossman J., Metzler K., and Uehara M. (2019) Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 106. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 54 in press.

El Médano 347
El Menia

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L5

Country

Year found

2023

Mass

75 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 185.73g

History: On Saturday, March 11, 2023, at approximately 10:30 am local time, multiple eyewitnesses from Algeria and Mauritania (Ben Hmida Hakoum, Zegay Yaakoub, Didoua Bachir, Bourzma Lamin, Belakhal Mhani, Hassi Al-Fahal, Hassi Ghanem, Noureddine Bellakehal) reported seeing a bright fireball approaching from a north to south direction at a relatively high velocity and shallow angle of entry. Residents within the city of El Menia reported hearing a sonic boom followed by stones hitting the ground; stones were reportedly recovered as early as ' after the observed fireball (most of these were completely or partially covered in fresh fusion crust, some displaying a bluish color; some stones appear to have "skipped" on the sand after landing). Some of the stones fell in farms and camel pastures nearby to El Menia; the first of these stones was recovered by Elhachemi Houamid, and a later stone recovered by Ahmed Elmniai; other stones were recovered by Noureddine Bellakehal (who had observed the fireball from the garden in his home) and other meteorite hunters within the desert surrounding El Menia. Stones were recovered primarily in the Hassi Walen area SW of El Menia; an estimated strewn field ellipse was bounded between 30°30’01.4" N 02°50’04.4" E and 30°21’57.6" N 2°43’04.5" E, with the ellipse center estimated to be at 30° 25.885’ N 02° 49.42’ E, approximately 5 kilometers from the nearby town of El Nebka. In total, over a hundred individual stones and fragments were recovered (ranging from 1 kg in size), with an estimated total known weight of approximately 75 kg. Matthew Stream purchased 8 kg (with the largest piece being a 1.79 kg individual) and provided a 23.4 g type specimen to Cascadia; Ziyao Wang purchased 7.2 kg and provided a 39.4 g type specimen to UWB; Sean Mahoney purchased 5 kg and provided a 21.7 g type specimen to UNM. Physical characteristics: Hundreds of stones (ranging from sub-g to kg sized); some found as complete individuals with fully or partially covered fusion crust (and some attached sand debris), others found as tiny fragments with exposed interiors. Some stones have a fusion crust that appears slightly bluish in color. Petrography: (D. Sheikh, Cascadia) Sample is an equilibrated ordinary chondrite comprised of few chondrules, and has a matrix containing secondary recrystallized feldspar (Average grain size ~25 µm) and accessory Fe-Ni metal, troilite, merrillite, and chromite. Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa25.3±0.5, range Fa23.6-26.3, n=50), Low-Ca Pyroxene (Fs21.3±0.3Wo1.3±0.2, range Fs20.2-21.7Wo0.9-1.7, n=47). Classification: Ordinary Chondrite (L5). Specimens: 23.4 g and one polished thin section on deposit at Cascadia, 39.4 g and one polished thin section on deposit at UWB, 21.7 g on deposit at UNM, 30 kg with Noureddine Bellakehal, 12 kg with Polandmet, 8 kg with Matthew Stream (with the largest piece being a 1.79 kg individual) , 7.2 kg with WangZ, 5 kg with Sean Mahoney, 3.2 kg with Karim Djoua, 3 kg with Preston Allen, 2.3 kg with Mohamed Ali Loud.

Gatuto

Name

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Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L6 

Country

Year found

2020

Mass

25 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 6.12kg

History: (per J. Higgins and M. Farmer) At about 8:27 pm on the evening of April 24, 2020, several witnesses near the village of Gatuto, Kenya, saw a bright trail in the sky, and about 5 minutes later heard three detonations followed by another longer sound ending with a bang. One of the witnesses to these phenomena, Mr. Josphat Gakere, was outside his house near Gatuto road when he and his family saw the fireball and heard detonations. Moments later he witnessed the impact of an object 15 m away, and discovered a 1 m deep hole in his maize garden. The following morning, an intact 6140 g fusion-crusted stone was excavated from the hole. Mrs. Mary Wamburu was preparing supper in her house near the village of Kombuini (between Kagio and Kutus) when she heard a noise on the corrugated metal roof. She looked into the next room and saw a hole in the roof and shattered rock on the concrete floor. Further investigations led by Mr. Mahamed Nur Ogle resulted in the recovery of a 2290 g stone, excavated next to a tree with bark shredded at a high angle to the ground on the farm adjacent to Mr. Gakere’s farm, as well as a 1 kg stone next to the Kerugoya-Kaguma road near the nearby village of Kimicha, an additional 494.4 g of fragments from other farms, and 117.7 g of fragments which had impacted and made white marks on the Kagio-Kutus road near Kimicha. Another >8 kg stone was excavated from its impact hole behind a man’s home located 2.2 km NNW of Gatuto; although people struck the stone with a hammer and removed some fragments, a ~7.4 kg intact piece remained. Soon after the fall event John Higgins in collaboration with Mahamad Nur Ogle acquired a total of 10.122 kg of material, and independently Michael Farmer obtained a total of 9.3 kg of material. Physical characteristics: The total weight of recovered material is estimated to be ~25 kg. The most complete stones are largely coated by black fusion crust. Their interiors and the broken fragments are light gray in color with a crystalline ("sugary") appearance and visible fresh metal grains. Some stones exhibit rare very thin, black shock veinlets. Petrography: (A. Irving, UWS and P. Carpenter, WUSL) Very sparse chondrules and partial chondrules occur within a recrystallized, locally poikiloblastic matrix containing unaltered kamacite, taenite, chromite, troilite and chlorapatite. A single 5 mm fine-grained type 7 clast exhibiting complete recrystallization and triple grain junction texture is present in the studied thin section. Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa24.8±0.1, range Fa24.7-25.0, N = 5), low-Ca pyroxene (Fs21.0±0.2Wo1.6±0.1, range Fs20.7-21.2Wo1.4-1.8, N = 5), augite (Fs8.2±0.2Wo44.5±0.3, range Fs8.1-8.4Wo44.3-44.9, N = 3), plagioclase (Ab84.0±0.7An10.2±0.4Or5.7±0.4, range Ab83.3-84.6An10.5-9.8Or6.2-5.4, N = 3), chromite (Cr1.56Fe0.91Al0.24Mg0.12Ti0.08). Magnetic suscpetibility log χ (× 10-9 m3/kg) = 4.71. Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L6). Specimens: 27.5 g including one polished thin section and one polished mount at UWB; 62 g at ASU; 10.1 kg including 6140 g main mass with Mr. J. Higgins; 9.3 kg with Farmer.

Ghubara

Name

*click on the Name for more information

Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L5

Country

Year found

1954

Mass

1.75 t

[Museum Collection]

(1) 59.826g  (2) 12.9g (3) 110g

This is 1 of 8638 approved meteorites (plus 4 unapproved names) classified as L5. Search for specimens in the Smithsonian Institution collection (U.S.): Search for this meteorite in the Natural History Museum collection (U.K.): Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 13, Moscow (1959)

Gifu

Name

*click on the Name for more information

Structure Class

Ordinary chondrites

Chemical Class

L6

Country

Year found

1909

Mass

14.29 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 0.242g

This is 1 of 12396 approved meteorites (plus 8 unapproved names) classified as L6. Search for specimens in the Smithsonian Institution collection (U.S.): Search for this meteorite in the Natural History Museum collection (U.K.): Never published in the Meteoritical Bulletin

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