Taza (Plessitic Iron) - 2.84g Dual Oriented Individual.

Taza (officially known as NWA 859) was found in Morocco in during 2000. It is an Iron meteorite classified as an Ungrouped Plessitic Octahedrite. Plessite is not a mineral as such but rather a fine grained mixture of Kamacite and Taenite. Taza has a relatively high Nickel content of 16.3% and displays an interesting pattern when cut and etched. There is a Total Known Weight of around 130kg with pieces ranging from less than a gram to the Main Mass of ~75kg. Many pieces in this find are oriented as you can see from some of the photos below. 

The specimen below is quite unusual as it displays "Dual Orientation" with lipping on both sides. A few theories exist as to how this feature originates. One is that the specimen orientates itself one way and then flips around to ablate from the opposite side. Another is that due to the specific shape of some pieces, a pocket of different pressure/air may form at the leading point during ablation causing pitting and/or an indentation. And a third theory is that the piece actually spins like a wheel causing lipping/rims on both sides. This specimen is part of the Meteorites Australia Collection (MA.02.0080).

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