DRONINO — A LARGE SLICE OF A SINGULAR METEORITE - photo 1

DRONINO — A LARGE SLICE OF A SINGULAR METEORITE

Lot 18
06.04.2022 14:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 1 764
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 737507
Lot 18 | DRONINO — A LARGE SLICE OF A SINGULAR METEORITE
Estimate value
£ 2 500 – 3 500
Dronino is classified as an ungrouped iron. In terms of its composition, it is unlike any other iron meteorite and does not fit into any of the established chemical (compositional) groups. In those cases where there are no other ungrouped meteorites with the same chemical composition, we are in the presence of the sole representative of an otherwise-unsampled asteroid. Dronino is the only known sample of what was at one time a protoplanet in our solar system (an asteroid with a differentiated core, mantle and crust).

Iron meteorites are primarily composed of two different iron-nickel alloys, kamacite and taenite. In Dronino, the kamacite contains 7% nickel while rare grains of taenite contain 26%. The banded and elongated accents seen are sulfide inclusions. While there is no other meteorite that has the surface texture of Dronino, the same can be said for the features seen in a cut sample.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue.
260 mm x 180 mm x 6 mm (101/4 x 7 x 1/4 in.)
1.3kg.
Category:Meteorite
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
23.03.2022 – 06.04.2022
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
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