[meteorite-list] Tomorrow at Bonhams: NWA 5717 - "The Extra-Ordinary Chondrite"

From: bernd.pauli at paulinet.de <bernd.pauli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: 26 May 2010 19:35:32 UT
Message-ID: <DIIE.000000B600004ADC_at_paulinet.de>

Darryl wrote: "The following is for chondrule lovers..."

Hi List,

Let me assure you that NWA 5717 is not only a "must have" for chondrule lovers
but also an absolute "must have" for any avid meteorite and thin section collector.
When I received my specimen + thin section some months ago, I was almost carried
away and there were lots of "oohs" and "aahs" when I first beheld my thin section in
cross-polarized light. Some of my pictures can be found in the online Encyclopedia of
Meteorites!

NWA 5717 is so unique that one of the lead researchers wrote about it the following:

"... this is one of the most significant chondrites to come along in some time ..."

The two equally "primitive" 3.05 lithologies are a feast for the eyes and my thin section
is rich in large BO chondrules. There are also both porphyritic chondrules and pyroxene
chondrules - the latter displaying undulose extinction. Chondrules are crisp and chondrule
boundaries are sharply delineated.

In my thin section I also detected a 1.625 x 1.375 mm BO chondrule with extremely strongly
zoned chondrule olivine. A large, dark cryptocrystalline chondrule (2.5 x 2.5 mm) does not
only display undulose extinction but is moreover composed of several differently oriented
single components (polysomatic).


NWA 5717 is undoubtedly one of my absolute collection hightlights!


Best wishes,

Bernd



To: darryl at dof3.com
    meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Received on Wed 26 May 2010 03:35:32 PM PDT