Monthly Favourite Meteorite (Bassikounou)

Bassikounou

The Bassikounou meteorite fell with a very large fireball around 4am local time on October 12th, 2006. The first specimen was found the same day at 1pm about 11km Southeast of Bassikounou, Hodh Ech Chargui, which is located in the far South-eastern corner of Mauritania, Africa. Bassikounou has been classified as an Ordinary Chondrite, H5 with a Shock Rating of S2 and a Weathering Level of W0 (unweathered). The official Total Known Weight for this fall is 29.56kg but more material totalling around 64kg has been found along a strewnfield that is approximately 8km long. Bassikounou displays a beautiful rich black, velvety crust with flow-lines present on some specimens. The interior is a contrasting pale grey colour and the classification also makes mention of some shock veins being present. It also states that the metal abundance is 8% vol. while Troilite (FeS) is 6.6% vol. This specimen is part of the Meteorites Australia Collection (MA.07.0040).

Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual
Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual.
Enlargement ---> 1000 x 993 (264KB)

Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual
Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual.
Enlargement ---> 1000 x 873 (256KB)

Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual
Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual.
Enlargement ---> 1000 x 893 (255KB)

Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual
Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual.
Enlargement ---> 1000 x 878 (233KB)

Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual
Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual.
Enlargement ---> 1000 x 1044 (295KB)

Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual
Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual.
Enlargement ---> 1000 x 765 (276KB)

Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual
Bassikounou (H5) 124g Individual.
Enlargement ---> 1000 x 731 (227KB)

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