13/05/2022
Sericho Pallasite Meteorite
History:
This pallasite was initially called Habaswein, after the neighbouring town. Ultimately, the meteorite was officially named Sericho, after the Keynesian area where the impact took place.
The Sericho pallasite formed at the mantle-core boundary of an asteroid about 4.5 billion years ago. Deep inside the asteroid, molten metal from the outer core mixed with chunks of the olivine mantle that had crystallized. Things remained quiet for Sericho until a major collision shattered the asteroid; this event and subsequent, less energetic collisions set Sericho pallasite material on a collision course with Earth — and more specifically, 200 miles northeast of what is now Nairobi, Kenya. The strewn field was discovered by camel herders, and the stony-iron rocks were first identified as meteorites in 2016; it is currently unclear when this meteorite shower occurred, but it is at least decades old
However, the meteorites were known for much longer with tales of the larger masses being played on when villagers were children. Sericho meteorites are found in a strewn field over 45 km long with pieces weighing from less than one kilogram to masses as large as 500 kilograms.
Description:
The olivine crystals of Sericho are generally rounded and vary in color from gemmy green to orange. The metal-rich areas of the Sericho pallasite show well-developed Widmanstätten patterns. Small individual pieces of the meteorite often show evidence of having been torn apart. Some pieces have patches of remaining fusion crust. The meteorite continues to be collected from the area with over 2.8 tons recovered as of the time it was officially classified.
Structure and composition:
It consists of centimetre-sized olivine crystals of peridot quality in an iron-nickel matrix. Coarser metal areas develop Widmanstätten patterns upon etching. Minor constituents are schreibersite, troilite, chromite, pyroxenes, and phosphates (whitlockite, canfieldite, barringtonite, and merrillite).[1][2] cfr. Wikipedia
Grinding and polishing:
The grinding and polishing of our pallasite was done at the University Ghent in Belgium under supervision of
Prof. Dr. Johan De Grave
Department of Geology (WE13)
Head of the Research Group Mineralogy and Petrology (MINPET)
Treatment of our pallasite:
Cut and polished on 1 site
Sanding pieces with #2400 SiC
Polish with 6 µg diamond paste
Polish with 3 µg diamond paste
Polish with 1 µg diamond paste
Finishing and polishing
This pallasite has a weight of 16,73g.
More info or price: send a private message
