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Lot 10
Muonionalusta Etched Meteorite Cube
7 December 2016, 10:00 PST
Los AngelesSold for US$3,750 inc. premium
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Muonionalusta Etched Meteorite Cube
Iron, Fine (IVA) Octahedrite
Kiruna, Norrbotten, Sweden
Dated to have impacted northern Sweden approximately one million years ago, and initially discovered in 1906, this locality has become one of the best sites for fine octahedrite irons. Searches for the impact crater from the original shower, near the Arctic Circle have been in vain, as several glacial periods have most likely transported the meteorites away from the original strewn field.
These meteorites are almost always found buried under several feet of glacial moraine, and require specialized metal detectors to be found at these depths. The Muonionalusta is also the first meteorite in which Stishovite has been identified, a rare and extremely hard silicon dioxide polymorph of quartz, formed by very high shock pressure created by the hypervelocity of a meteorite impact, giving rise to the theory that the Muonionalusta impact was one of the most violent and direct impacts on this planet.
Offered is a cube of Muonionalusta is the classic Widmanstätten patterns of meteorite metal matrix, an unearthly grid of shimmering shades of grey and silver, comprising two forms of nickel-iron, kamacite, and taenite. The high nickel content galvanizes the iron to some extent, which aids immensely in the meteorite's survival for nearly a million years under conditions highly favorable to rusting. Rarity and difficulty to recover make these specimens uncommon on the market. The present specimen is nearly cubic, possesses a fine etched pattern to all surfaces and a large troilite inclusion to one side. Weighing 1130 grams and measuring 2 1/8 x 2 1/8 x 2in
Kiruna, Norrbotten, Sweden
Dated to have impacted northern Sweden approximately one million years ago, and initially discovered in 1906, this locality has become one of the best sites for fine octahedrite irons. Searches for the impact crater from the original shower, near the Arctic Circle have been in vain, as several glacial periods have most likely transported the meteorites away from the original strewn field.
These meteorites are almost always found buried under several feet of glacial moraine, and require specialized metal detectors to be found at these depths. The Muonionalusta is also the first meteorite in which Stishovite has been identified, a rare and extremely hard silicon dioxide polymorph of quartz, formed by very high shock pressure created by the hypervelocity of a meteorite impact, giving rise to the theory that the Muonionalusta impact was one of the most violent and direct impacts on this planet.
Offered is a cube of Muonionalusta is the classic Widmanstätten patterns of meteorite metal matrix, an unearthly grid of shimmering shades of grey and silver, comprising two forms of nickel-iron, kamacite, and taenite. The high nickel content galvanizes the iron to some extent, which aids immensely in the meteorite's survival for nearly a million years under conditions highly favorable to rusting. Rarity and difficulty to recover make these specimens uncommon on the market. The present specimen is nearly cubic, possesses a fine etched pattern to all surfaces and a large troilite inclusion to one side. Weighing 1130 grams and measuring 2 1/8 x 2 1/8 x 2in