METEORITE FROM THE SAHARA DESERT WITH FUSION CRUST

An almost complete meteorite with fusion crust caused by melting of the surface as it travelled through the atmosphere.

This meteorite is a chondrite, which is a stony meteorite that has been formed when various types of dust and small grains in the early Solar System accreted to form primitive asteroids. Chondrites can be differentiated from iron meteorites due to their low iron and nickel content. It is the most common type of meteorite and their study provides important clues for understanding the origin and age of the Solar System.

It’s not clear which fall this meteorite can be attributed to. Several thousand meteorites have been found in North West Africa, mostly by nomads and local people, and most lack any information about how and where they were found. The international naming convention for these meteorites therefore follows a numbering system beginning with the letters NWA. This meteorite is likely to be part of the NWA 869 fall that was discovered in 2000, which was one of the largest in North West Africa, consisting of about 2 tons of material scattered over a wide area.