Peña Blanca Spring Meteorite Thin Section

On March 1, 2018 Roving Reporter’s pictures of the Peña Blanca Spring meteorite appeared on the Meteorite Picture of the Day website. I was immediately struck by this Aubrite’s sharp gray/white matrix coloration and its numerous inclusions. It is an exquisite meteorite! That weekend I decided that the next meteorite thin section to photograph will be the Peña Blanca Spring Aubrite. Presented here is the result of that decision: a large thin section in cross polarized light displaying the internal structure of this beautiful enstatite achondrite. The story of this meteorite’s discovery makes for good reading, so please enjoy: Story by John T. Lonsdale.

More Information at Meteorite Studies

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4x/0.25, achondrite, breccia, eucrite, LMScope, Nikon D810, northwest africa, polarized, scope2, zerene stacker

NWA 5903 Meteorite Thin Section

This thin section image of NWA 5903 provides viewers with an abstract painting created by nature. To look at a thin section of any rock under cross polarized light is to view the emergent features of mineral formation. Sextillions upon sextillions of atoms all interacting! It is fascinating to observe how matter crystallizes in various geometries and how this crystallized matter acts under polarized radiation. The eucrites are always wonderful to view this natural process, and NWA 5903 does not disappoint. The calcic plagioclase and exsolved pyroxene are mostly what give this image its incredible beauty.

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10x/0.25, achondrite, breccia, LMScope, mars, Nikon D810, northwest africa, polarized, scope2, zerene stacker

NWA 11220 Meteorite Thin Section

What a fascinating meteorite! NWA 11220, just like the previously posted NWA 8171, is a Martian Basaltic Breccia. It shares many of the same characteristics and the clasts have similar appearances. In the thin section posted here, readers can explore some eerily “alien” features which seem unique to this particular class of Martian meteorites. The large inclusion on the left side of the thin section contains fascinating little globular specks. Additional clasts contain shapes and features which pose numerous questions, such as what kind of “natural” processes could have formed them? Enjoy!

Information on Martian Basaltic Breccias at Meteorite Studies.

Information on NWA 11220 and YouTube videos of a CT Scan of the meteorite.

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