Cross Section of Exceptional Lunar Meteorite

About the Item

“This 149-gram slice of the Gadamis 004 lunar meteorite contains a wide variety of sizes of light-colored angular anorthositic clasts. These silicate clasts are rich in aluminum and calcium and are derived from the lunar highlands, the light-colored areas of the Moon that compose most of its crust.” Dr Alan E. Rubin, PhD Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, UCLA Gadamis 004 - Lunar Stone, 149g A spectacular polished slice of the Lunar meteorite Gadamis 004, discovered in the oasis Berber town of Ghadames, Libya. It reveals a magnificent greyish-white spotted interior, evoking the surface of the Moon as seen by the eye on a clear night. Lunar meteorites are extremely rare. When pairing together known specimens coming from the same meteoroid, only about a hundred are known, with most lunar surface samples having been recovered during the Apollo missions. The very first specimen to be discovered on Earth was found on 17 January 1982, a decade after the last Apollo mission, and those recovered since have proved invaluable to the understanding of the history and geological evolution of the Earth's only satellite. Gadamis 004 is a ferroan anorthosite and is noted for being the closest rock match to the samples brought back from the Apollo 16 mission. It is not fully understood how these lunar rocks formed, but they are thought to be pieces of the original crust of the Moon. Height: 17.6 cm (6.9 inches) Provenance: - Discovered in Ghadamis, Nalut District, Libya (30.284 ° N, 11.005 ° E). Published: - Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 111 (2022) - ArtAncient, Extraterrestrial (2022). Petrography: (C. Agee, UNM) Microprobe analysis reveals a significantly brecciated, cataclastic anorthitic plagioclase host making up 98-99% of this meteorite. Poikiolitically enclosed in the plagioclase are sparse, very small olivine and pyroxene blebs (most in the range 5-10 µm). Larger pyroxene grains are scarce with two larger grains in size range of 300 µm observed in the microprobe mount. Together, olivine and pyroxene make up a total of ~1-2% of this meteorite. Geochemistry: (C. Agee, UNM) Plagioclase An96.0±0.1Ab3.8±0.1Or0.2±0.1, n=4; olivine Fa38.9±1.0, Fe/Mn=105±3, n=4; pigeonite Fs34.0±4.8Wo5.4±2.3, Fe/Mn=60±3, n=4; augite Fs5.7Wo46.1, Fe/Mn=32.

Dimensions:
Height: 6.93 in (17.6 cm)Width: 5.52 in (14 cm)Depth: 0.12 in (3 mm)
Materials and Techniques:
Stone
Place of Origin:
Libya
Period:
15th Century and Earlier
Date of Manufacture:
4.5 Billion y/o
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 430111stDibs: LU1052231610942
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