Sahara Desert
Eucrite melt breccia
This partial triangular slice of meteorite NWA 11329 originates from an 18-kilogram mass whose largest section is on display at the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum. While orbiting Vesta, the second largest asteroid in our solar system, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft transmitted data which confirmed what scientists had long believed: eucrites originate from Vesta and based on a petrologic and chemical analysis, this specimen was part of a basalt flow on or near the surface of Vesta. As is the case with the Martian and lunar offerings, this arrived on Earth as a result of another asteroid having slammed into Vesta, ejecting debris into space, some of which serendipitously entered an Earth-crossing orbit.
This triangular partial slice has two cut edges and a curved arc of the meteorite’s external surface with patches of fusion crust. The cut and polished face showcases orthopyroxene inclusions set into a fine-grained, melt-textured matrix. NWA 11329 is one of the very few eucrites which reveal a transition zone between impact melt and brecciated components. While this detail is not evident in this offering, this is nonetheless a select specimen of an important meteorite — and one with an uncommon attribute: a return address.
85 x 85 x 4mm (3.3 x 3.3 x 0.1 in.) and 56.58 grams
