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, acapulcoite, achondrite, LMScope, Nikon D810, polarized, scope2, zerene stacker

Dhofar 125 Meteorite Thin Section

Dhofar 125 has the smallest mineral grains of known acapulcoites. The Meteorite Studies link below gives additional interesting facts, such as the fact that the acapulcoites have elemental ratio compositions identical to that of chondrites. It is also known that all acapulcoites have a narrow cosmic ray age of 4 – 7 million years, perhaps indicating a common ejection event from the parent object. Some acapulcoites contain relic chondrules — in this thin section of Dhofar 125 you can see what I think may be relic chondrules.

Dhofar 125 – Meteorite Studies

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

NWA 6704 Meteorite Thin Section

NWA 6704 is a special meteorite which has properties that make it difficult to place in any known category of classification. The story of its discovery by Gregory M. Hupé is a feature article at Meteorite Times and provides a nice look into the art of meteorite discovery. Slices showing the internal meteorite texture have an eerie green coloration… in fact, it makes me think of kryptonite! This thin section of NWA 6704 is composed of large orthopyroxene oikocrysts which, due to their intricate polarized color gradients, were difficult to seamlessly stitch together. The final result is rainbow of vivid colors, patterns etched almost 4.52 billion years ago. Be sure to view the links below for additional information and images.

John Kashuba Images

NWA 6704 – Meteorite Studies

Nature’s Vault

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