Cross-Section from an Exceptional Lunar Meteorite

About the Item

A piece of the moon - superb lunar meteorite gadamis 004 - Anorthosite 4.5 Billion y/o Among the rarest substances to be found on Earth, this lunar Meteorite travelled hundreds of thousands of miles before exploding into our atmosphere and falling into the Sahara, discovered in the Berber oasis town of Ghadames, Libya, from which it gets its name. This specimen has been cut open to reveal the Meteorite’s magnificent greyish-white spotted interior, evoking the surface of the Moon as seen by the eye on a clear night. Until the first lunar Meteorite was found on Earth on 17 January 1982, the history and surface composition of the Moon could only be studied from samples collected during the Apollo missions. Since these were exclusively harvested from the central near side of the Moon, the 1982 discovery proved a real scientific breakthrough. Thanks to the progressive retrieval on Earth of Meteorite fragments originating from all areas of the Moon, invaluable and previously unattainable information about lunar geology has since become available. 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. “This 134-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 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. Measure : Height: 20.32 cm Weight: 134 g Provenance: Discovered in Ghadamis, Nalut District, Libya (30.284 ° N, 11.005 ° E). Published: ArtAncient, Extraterrestrial (2022). Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 111 (2022).

Dimensions:

Height: 8.01 in (20.32 cm)Diameter: 4.96 in (12.59 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Stone

Place of Origin:

Libya

Period:

15th Century and Earlier

Date of Manufacture:

4.5 Billion y/o

Condition:

Seller Location: