[meteorite-list] RE: Confessions of a Lunatic

From: Norbert Classen <trifid_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:25:45 2004
Message-ID: <NCBBKMGDKLMGIBALJOFCIECLDGAA.trifid_at_timewarp.de>

Hello Bernd and List,

First, I'd like to thank you all for the congratulations on my
article that I received on and off list. It's been a real pleasure
to write this piece for Joel's great magazine, and I hope that
I didn't went too far in spreading my enthusiasm for lunar rocks,
and other planetary meteorites ;)

As to my listing of lunar meteorites Bernd asked:

> There is a listing of lunar meteorites on page 13. Two Japanese
> Antarctic lunaites and one NWA are described as "LUN G": Yamato
> 793169, Asuka 881757, and NWA 773.
>
> What does the "G" stand for? Yamato 793169 is basaltic, NWA 773
> is described as a "cumulate olivine norite regolith breccia".
> Asuka 881757, on the other hand, is described as showing
> "... an extraordinarily coarse-grained GABBROIC structure..."
>
> Does the "G" stand for "gabbroic" and, if so, who classified
> the other two lunaites as "LUN-G"?

Of course, you're perfectly right: LUN-A stands for anorthosites,
LUN-B for basalts, and LUN-G for gabbros. To tell you the truth,
I'm not fully aware of who classified the two Antarctic lunaites,
Yamato 793169, and Asuka 881757 as gabbros, but that's what I
found them listed in Monica Grady's fifth edition of The Catalogue
of Meteorites. For the gabbroic classification of NWA 773, please
visit Randy Korotev's website, and see his article on this unique
lunar rock, explaining why NWA 773 should be classified as an
olivine gabbro:

http://epsc.wustl.edu/admin/resources/meteorites/nwa773.html

Last, but not least, let me confess one more thing - I've been
to the deserts of the Arabian peninsula, earlier this year, and
I re-visited the known lunar strewnfields with some sucess.
Together with my field partner I recovered some additional
lunar rocks that are currently under publication! The
classification has already been done, but we don't have an
official name, right now, and so I don't want to say too much.
The work on these lunar rocks continues, and it should be the
primary right of the lab to publish the first data. Anyway,
if you're interested in a nice slice of a new lunar at most
favourable pre-sale prices - just contact me off-list, and
I'll come back to you, asap. Trades for other planetary
meteorites, and achondrites that are still missing in my
collection are most welcome, too.

Again, thanks for your interest. May Sister Moon shine on you
all ;))

All the best,
Norbert
Received on Tue 27 May 2003 03:03:04 PM PDT