Bechar 008 (HED) Howardite - 32.5 g

Bechar 008 30.25293 N, 3.53005 W

Bechar, Algeria

Purchased: 2022 Jul

Classification: HED achondrite (Howardite)

History: Si dice che un gruppo di cacciatori di meteoriti abbia trovato diversi frammenti di questo materiale in Algeria, in una zona chiamata Alagla (vicino Abadla) nel luglio 2022. Alcuni mesi dopo Mohamed Ali Loud ha acquistato un totale di 1700 g da un commerciante di meteoriti in Mauritania.

Petrography (K. Metzler, IfP) Polymict achondritic breccia, consisting of mineral fragments and lithic clasts up to ~5 mm in size. These components are embedded in a fine-grained clastic matrix of related debris. Lithic clasts are dominated by eucritic gabbros and granulites, both of which show exsolved pyroxene. Mineral fragments include various eucritic pyroxenes (with and without augite exsolution lamellae), diogenitic pyroxene, feldspar, a silica polymorph, chromite, ilmenite, and Fe-Ni metal. About 10-20 vol% diogenitic components.

Geochemistry: Mineral compositions and geochemistry: Gabbro clast: Low-Ca pyroxene (host): Fs60.6±0.5 Wo3.1±0.2 (Fs59.9-61.2 Wo2.8-3.3); mean Fe/Mn (at.): 30.3; n=6. Ca-rich pyroxene (exsolution lamellae) Fs28.8±1.4 Wo40.9±1.5 (Fs27.4-30.5 Wo38.8-42.6); mean Fe/Mn (at.): 31.5; n=6. Plagioclase: An86.8±1.8 Or0.3±0.3 (An85.4-89.4 Or0.0-0.8); n=6. Diogenitic pyroxene: Fs22.5±0.5 Wo2.0±0.3 (Fs21.5-23.2 Wo1.5-2.4); mean Fe/Mn (at.): 32.6; n=7. Plagioclase fragments from clastic matrix: An89.6±3.6 Or0.5±0.4 (An82.5-95.7 Or0.1-1.1); n=11.

Classification: Howardite, based on mineral chemistry, variety of eucritic lithologies, and occurrence of >10 vol% of diogenitic components.

I am a member of the Meteoritical Society (#7743) and have collecting meteorites for more than 15 years.