THE MAIN MASS OF A MONUM🌼ENTAL AND STR𝕴IKING STONY METEORITE FOUND IN THE SAHARA DESERT

Originating from the L chondrite parent asteroid (hypothesized to be either 433 Eros or a member of the Flora family of a💛steroids), this large and sculptural main mass of NWA 12759 displays regmaglypts – thumb-sized impressions – that formed during the meteorite's fiery descent through Earth's atmosphere. Its partial red, brown, and grey surface patina is a result 𝔉of the extended time it spent in the harsh Sahara Desert.

As with all chondrites, this specimen is characterized by the presence of chondrules, or spherical grains made up of silicate-rich minerals (such as olivine and pyroxene) that are some of the oldest solid materials in our Solar System and are considered to be the building blocks of the planets. Upon entry into Earth's atmosphere, NWA 12759 would have been traveling at cosmic velocity (ranging from 25,000 to 160,000 miles per hour), with the surrounding air ෴heating to over 1,700 °C (♌3,100 °F) and producing a large fireball. The heat was sufficient to melt the outer surface of the stone, exposing a new surface which in turn also ablated – vaporized and stripped away – leaving behind a new surface, along with the characteristic regmaglypts found on many meteorites. The last molten layer to form as it descended to the ground covered the meteorite in a layer of fusion crust, which currently surrounds the specimen and the chondrules inside.

Dr. Alan �🐷�E. Rubin, Researcher-Curator of the UCLA Meteorite Collection, Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, says of this particular specimen:

"This beautiful individual sample of the NWA 12759 L5 chondrite has a smooth posterior fusion crust where meteoritic melt pooled as the rock descended through the atmosphere and was heated by friction with molecules of air. The meteorite is from the L chondrite asteroid that was destroyed by an energetic collision 470 million years ago."

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