[meteorite-list] AL HAGGOUNIA 001 ("NOT" AUBRITE)

From: STARSANDSCOPES at aol.com <STARSANDSCOPES_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 10:28:33 EST
Message-ID: <cab.1ec35fb1.34818621_at_aol.com>

Hi list, I have been fascinated by the difficulty in identifying this
meteorite find as an Aubrite, EL3, EL6, EL6/7 or EL7 (did I miss a few?), but what
also has me amazed is the dispute on the "Fossil Meteorite" determination.

I have noticed 4 material types in the just over 100 Kg I have.

1. The most common is the dark brown with occasional "Chondrules". This
material looks dug up and I could believe it is matching the requirements for
fossilized. This is just a shot from the hip based on appearance.

2. The Blue phase. This stuff also looks like it was dug up but the
interior seems cleaner and less porris. On the big pieces it looks as if there is
brown staining working it's way to the middle. Some are almost all blue and
some are nearly all brown stained but interestingly enough, the blue phase
stained brown does not look paired to the brown stuff (Category 1) on the
microscope. This is just a personal observation and would be disputed by many so
just chalk it up to yet an other "Shot from the hip".

3. The concretions. Real cool pink to apricot dense clumps cemented to
chunks of blue phase or brown and a lot of what looks to be good old fashion
dirt and rocks.

4. This is the most important group to the fossil question. The
individuals! These are the ones collected on the surface with much of the features you
would expect in an ordinary weathered meteorite. These do not look to be
fossilized or even ever buried. The interior is often a consistent color with
great density not full of weathered out holes. I know I will get killed on
this one, but out of hundreds I have examined, I have a couple with remnant
patches of crust. Not crusted like your prize collection meteorite but still
crust. As I was witting this I felt silly so I dug out a prime example. I
got to say it is a 3/4 inch patch of crust and not typical interior shock
veins exposed to the exterior through time. This is not an other example called
crusted just because of a dark color.

I short, these individuals are found on the surface and do not look
weathered out of soil/rock. Separated from the first three categories I have
mentioned, I can not see these as resembling any thing "Fossilized".

Tom Phillips




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Received on Fri 30 Nov 2007 10:28:33 AM PST