Below is a photo of my three pieces of meteorite and one piece of tektite. My collection is small
right now but I intend to acquire more specimens over time. From the top down they are a slice of
Gibeon Iron, octahedrite, slice of Imilac Stony-Iron Pallisite, a slice of Allende stone carbonaceous
chondrite, and a piece of Moldavite impactite. You can click on the photo to see a much larger
and far more detailed photo. Below are detailed descriptions of all four specimens.
The top specimen is a rectangular cut slice about 1 mm thick from the interior of a fragment of
the Gibeon Iron, octahedrite(IVA) that was found in Great Namaland, Africa in 1836. It is of solid
Nickel-Iron composition and has been polished and acid etched to bring out the characteristic
Widmanstaten pattern of the metal crystals which is unique to this type of meteorite.
The specimen second from the top is a slice of Imilac Stony-Iron Pallisite found in 1822 in
the Atacama Desert of Chile. Pallisite consists of Olivine crystals embedded in a matrix of
Nickel-Iron alloy. The Olivine crystals are translucent and if a thin slice of Pallisite is held up
to a light the effect is similar to stained glass and very beautiful. Pallisite is a very rare type of
meteorite and also very expensive. I can only afford a small piece right now.
The specimen third down from the top is an irregular shaped slice about 3 mm thick of a
fragment of the Allende stone carbonaceous chondrite(CV3) that fell in Chihuahua, Mexico on Feb.
8, 1969. This slice is mostly from the interior of the fragment but there is a small patch of fusion
crust on one edge. This meteorite is notable for it's white Calcium/Aluminum inclusions which date as
4.6 billion years old. These inclusions are older than the Earth which dates to 4.5 billion years.
The bottom specimen is not truly a meteorite but is a piece of tektite impactite known as
Moldavite. It is a glassy substance that formed when a massive meteorite slammed into Yugoslavia
millions of years ago. The force of the impact melted both the meteorite and a large amount of soil
and bedrock which was blown high into the atmosphere by the force of the impact. The molten material
solidified into a translucent green glass and rained down over the countryside. Moldavite is
considered a semi-precious stone and has been mined for centuries to make jewelry. Although it looks
black in the photo, it is actually a beautiful green color when held up to a light.
