[meteorite-list] AD - Exotic New Carbonaceous CK5 NWA 6026, Allende, CO3.3, Karoonda, Murchison, Lodranite, Tumbled uNWA

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:37:58 -0500
Message-ID: <e51421551003101037v659c474dlc0ea3ea5d5ed0bde_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Folks,

I have an exciting announcement - I am now offering (exclusively) NWA
6026, a new carbonaceous chondrite CK5! This is a low-TKW meteorite
(244gr), and I am slicing up the main mass into whole slices and part
slices. I have specimens of this meteorite to fit every budget from
$5 to $500. If you don't see a piece in your price range, let me
know, and you can reserve a part slice from the next (and final) batch
of cuts that I make from the dwindling main mass.

This CK5 is fresh (W1/W2) and it contains shock veins (S2),
well-defined chondrules, CAI's, and very fine metallic grains. It's
matrix is riddled with small shock veins, which give the appearance of
brecciation. It's a very pretty meteorite of a very rare type. The
customers on my personal mailing list have already snapped up a few of
the largest slices, so the full slices I have listed now are all that
remains. There will be no more large slices over 6 grams. I still
retain a small endcut, so I will make some smaller part slices in the
near future, but nothing nearly as big as the whole slices listed now.
 Take a look at the photos and compare prices to other CK5's on the
market. I think you'll agree that this is a good offer and these
specimens won't last long. Don't forget, as a Met List subscriber,
you get a 20% discount on all orders over $10, so you can deduct 20%
from the prices listed on website to get the actual price you will
pay. (use coupon code "metlist" at checkout)

http://www.galactic-stone.com/products/nwa-6026-ck5

I also have micromounts and macromounts of several other carbonaceous
meteorites, including Karoonda, Allende, NWA 4439, NWA 5950, and
Murchison :

http://www.galactic-stone.com/products/carbonaceous

Tumble polished unclassified meteorites (for jewelry or crafts) :

http://www.galactic-stone.com/product/unwa-stony-meteorites--tumble-polished-lot-85gr--great-for-jewelry

Big nickel-finish Canyon Diablo iron (285gr) :

http://www.galactic-stone.com/product/canyon-diablo-iron-meteorite--large-nickel-finish-285gr-individual

See all of the newest offerings here :

http://www.galactic-stone.com/products/brand-new

And now a few more words about the NWA 6026 CK5 meteorite :

NWA 6026 was purchased in Morocco in 2009. It was submitted for
classification (Humboldt University, Berlin) and received the
provisional NWA number 6026 in January 2010. The specimen consisted
of a single mass weighing 244 grams with fresh glossy black fusion
crust. It has a weathering grade of W1/W2 and a shock grade of S2.
The interior is quite fresh with CAI's and small shock veins set in a
characteristic blue-grey background matrix of magnetite-rich material.
 Other classification data : Fa mol% 0.7-31.7, Fs mol% 1.9-5.6.

CK type specimens vary from other carbonaceous chondrites because they
have experienced violent conditions during their history. Like other
carbonaceous chondrites, they represent a primitive material from the
earliest days of the primordial solar nebula, but most carbonaceous
chondrites are relatively unaltered and pristine. CK types have
experienced non-aqueous oxidizing conditions as a result of heat and
shock that was caused by violent collisions in the early chaos of the
solar system. Because of this, they have a characteristic greyish
blue matrix that owes it's color to the presence of magnetite inside
the iron-rich olivine-bearing material. CK meteorites also contain
large CAI inclusions (Calcium Aluminum Inclusions), which are known to
be the oldest matter in the solar system, having condensed from the
solar nebula millions of years before the formation of chondrules.
Also, because of the CK's violent history, most of these meteorite
exhibit some degree of shock and shock veins. At first, scientists
thought that CK meteorites were part of the Vigarano (CV) family, and
they were labelled as CV4 or CV5 meteorites. But now it is known that
CK meteorites are a distinctly different class of meteorite that
originates from an unknown parent body that is different from other
carbonaceous chondrites. CK meteorites are subdivided into petrologic
grades 3-6, with 6 being the most metamorphosed and CK4 being the most
common.

To put this scarcity of this meteorite into perspective, consider the
following :

1) There have been approx. 30,000 meteorites to be officially
classified, and this includes all meteorites that originated from
Antarctica and the deserts of North West Africa. Out of many
thousands of meteorites to be found, only 80 have been classified as
CK5.

2) Of the 80 known CK5 meteorites, 67 of them were found in Antarctica
by official government expeditions and are only available for
scientific study - they are forever locked away from the collector's
market.

3) The majority of the Antarctic CK5 meteorites are tiny stones
weighing 10 or less grams from paired finds. Only 4 of the Antarctic
finds weigh more than 100 grams, and only one weighs more than 1000
grams. In other words - these 67 Antarctic meteorites don't add up to
much total weight and may only represent a small number of paired
falls.

4) Of the 13 CK5 meteorites available to collectors, 4 of them are
very small stones weighing under 100 grams, so this material is rarely
seen on the market.

5) The combined TKW (total known weight) of all CK5 meteorites is only
11.7kg, and the non-Antarctics weigh only 7.9kg.

6) By comparison there are over 60 known lunar meteorites (not
counting pairings) and just one of them weighs more than all of known
CK5 meteorites in existence. This means that carbonaceous CK5
meteorites are many times more rare than lunars (moon rocks) by
weight.

Take a look around the web and compare prices for this material.

Some of the other non-Antarctic CK5 meteorites that are seen on the
collector market :

Dar al Gani 412 - a very weathered (W3) meteorite consisting of a
single mass weighing 946 grams. (selling for $40/gram)

NWA 060 - a single 604gr stone found very early in the NWA days.
(selling for $50/gram to $100/gram)

Thanks for looking, and if you have questions, feel free to ask.

MikeG

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
http://www.galactic-stone.com
http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
------------------------------------------------------------

Received on Wed 10 Mar 2010 01:37:58 PM PST