Monthly Favourite Meteorite (NWA 2933)

NWA 2933

Northwest Africa 2933 (NWA 2933) was found in the Sahara Desert, Africa as a single stone weighing 511g. NWA 2933 has been classified as a very rare L3.3 Regolith Breccia, with a Shock Rating of S2 and a Weathering Level of W2. A regolith can be described as a mixing of different compositions and/or petrologic stages with a fine matrix at the surface of an asteroid, or moon, etc. This can be discerned (especially under magnification) in the sample below where there are areas of smaller brown/orange chondrules/matrix set amongst the pale grey matrix. There are numerous unusual chondrules and inclusions within this slice such as the large obvious black inclusion at the bottom centre. This inclusion is relatively featureless apart from a few small pieces within it. These look like small chondrules or chondrule fragments. In fact, these type of inclusions have been theorised to be heavily altered pieces of CM or CI material with phantom chondrules. These specimens are part of the Meteorites Australia Collection (MA.05.0103 & MA.07.0012).

NWA 2933 (L3.3 Regolith Breccia) 10.2g Slice
NWA 2933 (L3.3 Regolith Breccia) - 10.2g Slice
Enlargement ---> 1000 x 805 (322 KB)

NWA 2933 (L3.3 Regolith Breccia) 10.2g Slice
NWA 2933 (L3.3 Regolith Breccia) - 10.2g Slice
Enlargement ---> 1000 x 815 (330 KB)

NWA 2933 (L3.3 Regolith Breccia) 10.2g Slice
NWA 2933 (L3.3 Regolith Breccia) - 10.2g Slice (Close-up)
Enlargement ---> 1000 x 750 (370 KB)

NWA 2933 (L3.3 Regolith Breccia) 10.2g Slice
NWA 2933 (L3.3 Regolith Breccia) - 10.2g Slice (Close-up)
Enlargement ---> 1000 x 750 (416 KB)

NWA 2933 (L3.3 Regolith Breccia) 19g Slice
NWA 2933 (L3.3 Regolith Breccia) - 19g Slice

NWA 2933 (L3.3 Regolith Breccia) 19g Slice
NWA 2933 (L3.3 Regolith Breccia) - 19g Slice (Close-up)

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