Mount Dooling iron meteorite (IC) slice, expertly prepared in the laboratory to reveal its Widmanstätten pattern. The complete slice weighs 859 grams and measures approximately 278 mm x 160 mm x 4 mm. Accompanied by a specimen identification card from Aerolite Meteorites.
There is perhaps no meteorite-specific characteristic more captivating than the Widmanstätten pattern. A result of extremely slow cooling in space, this interlocking lattice of nickel-iron alloys was likely first recorded by the British mineralogist William Thomson, but takes its name from Count Alois von Beckh Widmanstätten, who noticed the phenomenon in the early 1800s. The Widmanstätten pattern is seen in most iron and stony-iron meteorites, but usually only after exacting preparation in the laboratory, which involves cutting, polishing, and etching with an inflammable mixture of alcohol and nitric acid. No two iron meteorite patterns are the same, rather, each shows a unique structure, much like cosmic snowflakes.
According to iron meteorite expert Vagn Buchwald, Mount Dooling displays a coarse Widmanstätten pattern, with 'coarse' referring to the width of its geometric bands, known scientifically as lamellae. The nickel-iron matrix in this lovely slice is punctuated by numerous spherical shock-melted troilite nodules and Neumann bands.
First discovered in the wild western half of Australia in 1909 by a gold prospector, Mount Dooling has seldom been offered for sale on the collectors' market and belongs to a very rare classification—IC. There are only ten other meteorites known with this designation. Note that one of the others, Santa Rosa, is also offered in this auction (see lot 2135).
An extremely fine full slice with pleasing shape, and abundant interesting features.
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