COMPLETE BASSIKOUNOU METEORITE - photo 1

COMPLETE BASSIKOUNOU METEORITE

Sold
$ 8 125
Auction dateClassic
23.02.2021 10:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 491273
Lot 63 | COMPLETE BASSIKOUNOU METEORITE
In the southeast corner of Mauritania, extremely close to the Malian border, a bright fireball was observed at 1 P.M. on October 16, 2006. More than 20 stones fell from the sky and formed a strewn field that extended about 8 kilometers across the landscape. The rock from which this meteorite originated was shocked on its parent asteroid; metal and sulfide grains melted and metallic copper grains formed.

While scientists frequently ignore the fusion crusts of meteorites as it is material that has been altered by frictional heating, it is a sought-after commodity in the collecting community — and this is a fine example. When a meteorite impacts Earth, portions of the fusion crust can break off. Moreover, when a meteorite is exposed to Earth’s elements, the first portion of a meteorite that will decompose and slough-off is its crust. A small window to the matrix in the upper corner is seen in this fine example.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue.


92 x 54 x 62mm (3.66 x 2 x 2.5 in.) and 433g (1 lb)
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
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09.02.2021 – 23.02.2021
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
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