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Shergottites

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NWA12262

Name

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Structure Class

achondrites

Chemical Class

Martian (shergottite)

Country

Year found

2018

Mass

3.29 kg

[Museum Collection]

(1) 2.79g   (2) 1.26g

History: Purchased in Ouarzazate, Morocco by Mohamed Aid in July 2018. Petrography: (A. Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS; P. Carpenter, WUSL) Medium-grained with diabasic texture and some small, dark glassy shock melt pockets. Composed predominantly of zoned clinopyroxene and maskelynite with accessory fine grained intergrowths of hedenbergite+fayalite+silica, Fe-Ti oxide (finely exsolved), merrillite and pyrrhotite. Geochemistry: Subcalcic augite (Fs28.5-30.6Wo28.2-23.7, FeO/MnO = 30, N = 2), pigeonite (Fs41.3Wo15.5, FeO/MnO = 31), ferropigeonite (Fs71.1-83.4Wo17.1-11.3, FeO/MnO = 38-45, N = 4), maskelynite (An50.9-52.1Or2.1, N = 2). Classification: Martian (shergottite, diabasic) Specimens: 26.3 g including one polished thin section at UWB; remainder with Aaronson.

NWA12269

Name

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Structure Class

achondrites

Chemical Class

Martian (shergottite)

Country

Year found

2018

Mass

1679 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 7.02g   (2) 1.34g

History: Purchased in Ouarzazate, Morocco by Mohamed Aid in July 2018. Petrography: (A. Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS; P. Carpenter, WUSL) Relatively fine grained with intersertal texture. Composed predominantly of zoned clinopyroxene and maskelynite (some exhibiting a curved, narrow lath-like habit) with accessory fine grained intergrowths of hedenbergite+fayalite+silica, Fe-Ti oxides, merrillite and pyrrhotite. Geochemistry: Subcalcic augite (Fs24.8-41.8Wo31.4-24.3, FeO/MnO = 30-33, N = 3), ferropigeonite (Fs66.9-73.0Wo16.6-16.5, FeO/MnO = 41-43, N = 2), maskelynite (An51.9-53.1Or1.3-1.2, N = 2). Classification: Martian (shergottite, fine-intersertal) Specimens: 20.5 g including one polished thin section at UWB; remainder with Mr. Aaronson.

NWA12594

Name

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Structure Class

achondrites

Chemical Class

Martian (shergottite)

Country

Year found

2018

Mass

150 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 9.59g   (2) 0.97g   (3) 0.82g

History: Found in Algeria in 2018 and purchased from a Moroccan dealer by Huapei Wang in 2018 Physical characteristics: These stones are (partially) covered by black fusion crust and appear to be very fresh and unaltered. Numerous vesicles are seen in the fusion crust. The interior is composed of yellow green grains with interstitial pale gray grains. Petrography: The rock has a medium-grained subophitic texture. It consists of elongated prismatic pyroxene (up to 1.5 mm in length) and lath-like plagioclase (up to 1.8 mm in length), with accessory titanomagnetite, ilmenite, silica polymorph, merrillite, pyrrhotite, fayalite. Pyroxenes show patchy zoning from Mg-rich core to Mg-poor rim, with irregular boundaries. Ilmenite occurs as thin lamellae intergrown with titanomagnetite. Geochemistry: Pyroxenes are zoned from augite cores (En45.3Wo25.6, FeO/MnO = 28.5) and pigeonite cores (En40.3Wo19.6 FeO/MnO = 32.3) to ferropigeonite rims (En8.4Wo14.5 FeO/MnO = 41.1). Plagioclase is characterized by homogeneous compositions of An52 Or1.4. Titanomagnetite (TiO2 29.4 wt%, FeO 65.5 wt%, Al2O3 1.3 wt%); ilmenite (TiO2 48.9 wt%, FeO 49.8 wt%).

NWA13327

Name

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Structure Class

achondrites

Chemical Class

Martian (shergottite)

Country

Year found

2020

Mass

346 g

[Museum Collection]

(1)20.529g  (2)10.515g  (3)4.461g  (4)3.613g
(5)3.609g    (6)3.178g    (7)3.144g  (8)2.531g
(9)2.445g    (10)1.982g  (11)1.860g  (12)1.562g
(13)1.544g  (14)1.468g  (15)1.408g  (16)1.399g
(17)1.288g  (18)1.275g  (19)1.260g  (20)1.110g
(21)1.024g  (22)0.879g  (23)0.858g  (24)0.853g
(25)0.795g  (26)0.730g  (27)0.717g  (28)0.711g
(29)0.699g  (30)0.608g  (31)0.566g (32)0.517g
(33)0.497g  (34)0.462g  (35)0.451g  (36)0.446g
(37)0.424g

History: Purchased by Eric Twelker in February 2020 from a Moroccan dealer at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Petrography: (A. Irving, UWS and P. Carpenter, WUSL) Diabasic texture (mean grainsize ~0.8 mm). Composed predominantly of prismatic grains of zoned clinopyroxene and lath-like maskelynite together with accessory silica polymorph, merrillite, chlorapatite, Cr-Mn-bearing ulvöspinel, ilmenite, pyrrhotite and baddeleyite. Minor secondary calcite is present. Geochemistry: Subcalcic augite (Fs20.1-27.3Wo29.1-35.4, FeO/MnO = 19-34 , N = 5), ferroan subcalcic augite rim (Fs45.1Wo30.7, FeO/MnO = 36), ferroan pigeonite rims (Fs53.9-61.3Wo13.4-15.7, FeO/MnO = 36-37, N = 3), maskelynite (An53.4-55.7Or1.4-0.9, N = 4). Classification: Shergottite (diabasic). Specimens: 20.5 g plus one polished thin section at UWB; remainder with Mr. E. Twelker.

NWA13367

Name

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Structure Class

achondrites

Chemical Class

Martian (shergottite)

Country

Year found

2020

Mass

249 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 5.50g

History: Purchased from a Moroccan dealer in April 2020. Physical characteristics: Single stone, fusion crust, saw cuts reveals an ultramafic cumulate rock with ophitic to poikilitic textures with mm-size pale yellow and dark gray grains. Petrography: (C. Agee, UNM) Microprobe examination shows approximately 50% olivine, 40% pyroxene, and 10-5% maskelynite. Two distinct pyroxene trends are present 1) Mg-rich low calcium pyroxene trending to slightly more Fe-rich pigeonite, 2) Mg-rich augite trending to more Ca-rich augite. Ilmenite, spinel, Fe-sulfide, and merrillite are minor ubiquitous phases. Geochemistry: (C. Agee, UNM) Olivine Fa34.6±2.0, Fe/Mn=49±2, n=10; low Ca-pyroxene Fs22.5±0.5Wo4.7±0.7, Fe/Mn=29±2, n=6; augite Fs17.2±0.9Wo32.4±2.8, Fe/Mn=24±1, n=4; maskelynite An52.9±2.3Ab46.0±2.2Or1.1±0.2, n=4, fusion crust SiO2=46.5±0.6, TiO2=0.9±0.1, Al2O3=8.6±3.5, Cr2O3=0.7±0.1, MgO=18.0±3.5, FeO=15.3±0.5, MnO=0.4±0.1, Na2O=1.4±0.5 (all wt%), n=2. Classification: Martian peridotitic shergottite. Macroscopic textural appearance similar to NWA 1950 and ALHA77005. Paired with NWA 13250. Specimens: 20 g on deposit at UNM, Marcin Cimala holds the main mass.

NWA15876

Name

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Structure Class

achondrites

Chemical Class

Martian (shergottite)

Country

Year found

2023

Mass

339 g

[Museum Collection]

(1) 5.25g   (2) 2.57g 

History: The meteorite was purchased from a meteorite dealer in Morocco. Physical characteristics: Grayish to dark greenish fragments with patches of black fusion crust. Petrography: The meteorite shows a poikilitic texture of up to 3 mm sized pyroxenes enclosing rounded to subrounded olivines that frequently contain trapped melt inclusions. Feldspar is a minor component and has completely been transformed to maskelynite. Accessory minerals include chomite, FeS and FeNiS. Contains glassy to finely recrystallized shock melt pocket. Geochemistry: olivine: Fa27.8±0.7 (Fa26.8-28.4, FeO/MnO=44±1, n=10); orthopyroxene: Fs18.7±0.3Wo2.4±0.1 (Fs18.3-19.5Wo2.3-2.6, FeO/MnO=27±2, n=10); pigeonite: Fs24.6±1.5Wo10.6±2.3 (Fs20.4-26.6Wo7.1-13.7, FeO/MnO=26±1, n=10); maskelynite (An53.2-56.3Ab42.4-45.4Or1.3-1.5, n=10) Classification: Martian meteorite (shergottite); likely paired with NWA 10961

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