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The "BL" Meteorite (NWA 1685)
Below are
photos and comments from Bernd Pauli on a meteorite known as
'BL'. A batch of meteorites were sold by Dean Bessey as an
unclassified chondrite under the name 'BL' and has since been
given the formal name; NWA 1685.
Bernd Pauli:
"The BL's have already been the subject of much debate and
whatever
they will finally be classified as, they are beautiful, they are
extraordinary.
Here is what I found in the BL thin section that I already own:
Both in hand specimen as in thin section there are areas that
are absolutely
featureless, devoid of any chondrules or other inclusions, and
look almost
achondritic.
The view under crossed polars is breathtaking: While there are
chondrules
and mineral components of various sizes in a fine-grained,
almost opaque
groundmass, the featureless clast in my Thin Section shows an
incredible, equigranular
structure without any fine-grained, interstitial groundmass ...
as if it had been
"blown" or "swept" away.
Never before have I seen this in any other thin section that I
have or that I
have seen pictured in the literature. Imagine hundreds and
hundreds of
colorful little pearls seen from a distance."
'BL' Meteorites -
Two cut specimens.
Thin section used
for Bernd's observations.
This image shows
the "borderline area" between the coarser
matrix material (lower part) and the finely distributed,
recrystallized material
(upper part) in polarized light. The upper part in the polarized
view is the large,
featureless area (in the lower left part of the previous image)
that is only criss-crossed
by a few dark veinlets.
Another 'BL' Thin
Section.
NWA 1685 ("BL"
Meteorites).
(©2007 John Kashuba)
NWA 1685 ("BL"
Meteorites).
(©2007 John Kashuba)
NWA 1685 ("BL"
Meteorites).
(©2007 John Kashuba)
NWA 1685 ("BL"
Meteorites).
(©2007 John Kashuba)
NWA 1685 ("BL"
Meteorites).
(©2007 John Kashuba)
A similar
meteorite, NWA 1794, but not 'BL'.
Magnified view of
NWA 1794.
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