L6 Chondrite, Northwest
Africa, Sahara Desert, 2001
There are several
different meteorites with individual numbers that look so much alike,
in the future they may be paired together with NWA791. However, this is a
meteorite that has several interesting features. It has two different types
of inclusions one of dark gray and one cement colored. They are generally
rounded and vary greatly in size from a few millimeters to two or three
centimeters. The cement colored inclusions are basically featureless masses. One early report from an identically appearing meteorite, but
with a different NWA number is that they consist of finely pulverized
pyroxene and olivine. We will all have to wait to hear more, but these inclusion make
this meteorite very interesting. It has a nice scattering of bright
metal grains. The matrix shows spotty discoloration from weathering. Classified as an L6 there are still some
easy to see chondrules. The preliminary report on the stone referred
to above was that it was at least and L5 and very shocked. There could be revisions down the road once all these various NWAs are paired together.
