CH3 chondrite
Purchased October 2006
no coordinates recorded
A single highly weathered stone weighing 181 g was found in Northwest Africa. The stone was acquired by Moroccan meteorite dealer A. Habibi, and thereafter, sold to the Polish Meteorite Laboratory. Analyses of individual samples of this meteorite, conducted at both Northern Arizona University (T. Bunch) and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris (M. Denise), resulted in a classification for NWA 4781 of CH3 chondrite.
An excellent webpage about NWA 4781 has been constructed by J. Kashuba, which utilizes petrographic thin section views and descriptions (see it here). Further information about the CH3 group can be found on the Acfer 214 page. The specimen of NWA 4781 pictured above is a 1.45 g partial slice. The photo below shows the "dinosaur-skin" texture of the fusion crust sculptured by extensive terrestrial weathering consistent with grade W4.
Click on photo for a magnified view
Photo courtesy of A. Habibi
For additional information on CH chondrite petrogenesis, read the PSRD article by G. Jeffrey Taylor—"The Oldest Metal in the Solar System", Sept. 2000, from this link.
