Northwest Africa 7034

NWA (North West Africa) 7034 is a planetary stone meteorite, which comes with high probability from the planet Mars. He is the second oldest meteorite that is known from Mars, has the highest water content of all Martian meteorites and meteorite is the first of a new Martian meteorite group, called "Mars meteorite ( basaltic breccia ) ".

Fund and Name

The meteorite was found in the Sahara, a more accurate location information is not possible. 2011, the meteorite was sold by a dealer in Morocco to a collector in the USA. This left a piece of the meteorite at the University of New Mexico. As for all the meteorites in which the exact location is unknown, there is the name of the geographical region (North West Africa ) and a number that is output continuously. The nickname, which was also used frequently in the press, is " Black Beauty".

Description

NWA 7034 is the type of meteorite forth an achondrite. He is a volcanic breccia with a porphyroklastischen structure. The largest clasts are composed of pyroxene ( pigeonite and augite ) and plagioclase ( andesine ) and can reach up to 5 mm in diameter. In addition, also occur ancillary chlorine apatite, chromite, ilmenite, magnetite, alkali feldspar and pyrite. You may also have clasts of solidified melt. The matrix consists of fine-grained plagioclase, pyroxene, various oxides and traces of iron sulfides.

The high water content could be an indication that the former oceans of Mars still existed when the rock of the meteorite was formed.

The formation of the rock from which the meteorite has arisen, is dated to 2.089 ± 0.081 billion years, a time at the beginning of the Amazonian period of Mars. The meteorite is the second oldest rock sample, which are known from Mars.

Classification

If the meteorite a terrestrial rock, he would be classified as Basaltbrekzie. That the meteorite comes from Mars, manganese ratio was mainly due to the matching iron / seen. However, he did not fit the three groups of the SNC meteorites ( Shergotite, Nakhlite and Chassignite ) and not to ALH 84,001th He was therefore classified until January 2013 as the ungruppierter planetary Achondrite until the " Meteoritical Society " the grouping as " Martian meteorite ( basaltic breccia ) " accepted.

The iron / manganese ratio is an indication of an affinity to the planet Mars. Against the affinity to Mars speaks the oxygen isotope ratio. This deviation could also come by metasomatism or processes during the Impaktbrekzierung about. Thus, a meteorite could have contaminated with a different isotope ratio of the crust of Mars.

Credentials

• Individual meteorite
• Mars ( Planet)
• Meteorites