Northwest Africa 4438 (NWA 4438)

NWA 4438 was discovered in the Sahara Desert during February 2006 in the form of many small stones totalling just 390g. The stones were classified as a rare primitive chondrite, L3.1 with a Shock Rating of S2 and a Weathering Level of W2. There are numerous features throughout NWA 4438 such as a large array of varying chondrules of different shapes and colours. The specimen below also has a couple of pockets of what may different primitive material. These are near center and at the center right and appear as very small closely knit chondrules set in a virtually featureless black matrix. Similar features are present in other primitive chondrites such as NWA 4560, NWA 2933, NWA 3128, NWA 2490 and NWA 3119. This specimen is part of the Meteorites Australia Collection (MA.08.0020).

NWA 4438 (L3.1) - 5.2g Endcut.
Enlargement ---> 1500 x 1003 (446KB)

NWA 4438 (L3.1) - 5.2g Endcut.
Enlargement ---> 1500 x 1028 (317KB)