[meteorite-list] NWA 3159 - Vesicular, plutonic eucrite with (pre-)terrestrial crystals?

From: Zelimir Gabelica <Zelimir.Gabelica_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 16:41:11 +0100
Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20070113162128.027a8968_at_pop.univ-mulhouse.fr>

Gary, many thanks for the URL.
Breathtaking photos indeed

Bernd, I just cross my fingers the aggregate is not a simple sand grain
embedded into the vesicle. I don't want to play the bird for the ill omen
but this already happened to me...with some NWA, by definition found in
(sandy) desert.
Though in your case, the inclusion is really strange.
Did you just try to touch it with some tiny tweezers or pin, just to see
(under scope) whether it moves back and forth from its equilibrium position
? This sometimes (not always) happen with sand grains.
A spot analysis of the gran would help. Though the whole sample is far too
big for that doing. Detecting quartz would throw some doubt about the extra
terrestrial origin of the aggregate.
Bernd, knowing your care in examining all this closely, I am sure I am
wroing with my simplistic speculations.

Best wishes,

Zelimir



A 10:20 13/01/2007 -0500, Gary K. Foote a ?crit :
>There is now a page online with photos, Bernd's comments and links to the
>larger photos.
>The URL is;
>
>http://www.meteorite-dealers.com/nwa3159eucrite-bernd.html
>
>Gary
> >
> > On 13 Jan 2007 at 13:59, bernd.pauli at paulinet.de wrote:
> >
> > > Hello Greg, List, and Eucrite Buffs,
> > >
> > > I recently bought Greg's last piece of NWA 3159, a 10.7-gram individual.
> > > This is no.3 in my collection because there are already two breathtaking
> > > cut slices clearly showing the two distinct lithologies:
> > >
> > > 1. the black, shock-melted, vesicular areas
> > > 2. the "normal" brecciated eucritic areas
> > >
> > > I was wondering if I could also find the vesicular texture in an
> individual,
> > > and, I did find such areas. But, then, I held my breath when I also
> spotted
> > > a beautiful crystal aggregate of...maybe olivine or pyroxene under my
> micro-
> > > scope at 16x and 32x magnification!
> > >
> > > Yes, I know that olivine is not usually found in eucrites but it has been
> > > found in small amounts in NWA 011, in Macibini, in NWA 049, in NWA
> 1000, etc.
> > >
> > > I would like to invite those who have acquired such individuals from
> Greg and
> > > who can examine their pieces under high(er) magnifications to closely
> examine
> > > their specimens and maybe find such crystalline aggregates. Any input
> would
> > > be greatly appreciated!
> > >
> > > Mount Tazerzait and Baszk?wka have taught us that such crystals can
> survive the
> > > meteorite's fiery descent through our atmosphere (if properly
> shielded). But
> > > these crystals in my NWA 3159 individual are not really within the
> meteorite's
> > > interior matrix but protrude from one of its vesicular cavities, in
> other words,
> > > they may have been exposed to the atmospheric forces *IF* they should
> be pre-
> > > terrestrial.
> > >
> > > Would do you think? Terrestrial or pre-terrestrial (= meteoritic)?
> And what are they?
> > > Quartz, pyroxene, olivine??? I will ask Jeff Kuyken, Mark Bostick, or
> Gary (or, maybe,
> > > all of them ;-) to host the pictures I've taken so you can see what I
> am talking about.
> > >
> > > Best eucritic and
> > > crystalline wishes,
> > >
> > > Bernd
> > >
> > > ______________________________________________
> > > Meteorite-list mailing list
> > > Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> > > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
> > >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>______________________________________________
>Meteorite-list mailing list
>Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

Prof. Zelimir Gabelica
Universit? de Haute Alsace
ENSCMu, Lab. GSEC,
3, Rue A. Werner,
F-68093 Mulhouse Cedex, France
Tel: +33 (0)3 89 33 68 94
Fax: +33 (0)3 89 33 68 15
Received on Sat 13 Jan 2007 10:41:11 AM PST