[meteorite-list] Photo of a K-chondrite / Could this be one of the rarest meteorites found?

From: Meteorites USA <eric_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:17:19 -0800
Message-ID: <4B03673F.7050400_at_meteoritesusa.com>

Jason, list,

Maybe I don't quite understand... ;) The size of an individual meteorite
whether ungrouped or even a previously unknown type or new
classification would not be the deciding factor in determining rarity at
all would it?

If of course you consider the major factor concerning rarity to be the
number of stones or TKW, and you don't slice or break up the specimen,
then a 1 ton stone could of course be the rarest type in existence if it
were in fact of some previously unknown or ungrouped type right? The
same could be said if no one had access to that 1 ton specimen.

Technically speaking distribution and access to material is also a
determining factor of the rarity of a meteorite. The term "rarest
meteorite" does not quite depend on type or class alone.

So yes I would agree that you're right, if type were the only factor
involved, then your 1-2g specimen of an ungrouped type it would be the
rarest meteorite.

But consider the Willamette meteorite, or the Old Woman meteorite. They
are both irons, and of a common class, but the distribution of that
particular material in private and university collections makes it rare
doesn't it?

Obviously I'm splitting hairs... Maybe it's more about the meaning of
the phrase "the rarest meteorite" than the actual rarity of the
meteorite type class.

Regards,
Eric Wichman
Meteorites USA





Jason Utas wrote:
> Hello Sonny, All,
> I've often thought about such a term - "the rarest meteorite."
> The rarest meteorite would of course be smallest ungrouped meteorite,
> for one could feasibly conceive of a 1-2g unique meteorite. When a
> new type is named, however, a hype generally surrounds it - rather
> like the olivine diogenite craze of a few years ago, or the confusion
> surrounding Bencubbinites, and other poorly defined types of
> meteorites.
> The simple fact of the matter is that there meteorites are too often
> categorized by our current system into associations and groups into
> which they fit rather poorly; Jeff Grossman states as much in the last
> thread surrounding the poor chemical and isotopic relationships
> between many basaltic meteorites deemed "eucrites."
> But regardless of this fact, a simple truth remains. There are
> countless ungrouped meteorites and several Kakangari-type meteorites,
> so while they may be one of the least common "types," they are by no
> means examples of the "rarest" meteorite known.
> Regards,
> Jason
>
> On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 6:12 PM, <wahlperry at aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Bernd and list,
>>
>> Would this be one of the rarest meteorites ever found? If not, what
>> meteorite would be?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Sonny
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: bernd.pauli at paulinet.de
>> To: Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>> Sent: Tue, Nov 17, 2009 1:12 pm
>> Subject: [meteorite-list] Photo of a K-chondrite
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi Greg and List,
>>
>> Hardly any photos of Kakangaris exist. You'll find one on David
>> Weir's excellent website: http://www.meteoritestudies.com/
>>
>> Click on chondrites and then scroll down to Kakangari!
>>
>> Thin section pics of Kakangari can be found here (on pages 202-205):
>>
>> D.S. LAURETTA, M. KILLGORE (2005) A Color Atlas of Meteorites in Thin
>> Section
>> (Golden Retriever Publications and Southwest Meteorite Press, ISBN
>> 0-9720472-1-2, 301 pp.).
>>
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Bernd
>>
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Received on Tue 17 Nov 2009 10:17:19 PM PST