[meteorite-list] Its official! NWA 6291 "The King of Angrites" for sale - AD

From: Jason Utas <meteoritekid_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:44:42 -0700
Message-ID: <AANLkTinKQY4LYYGVlyyrn57lDzM7RN-ioIoNcXUhFsKO_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hello Greg, All,

Sheesh...you might read that paragraph again. The Hupe's don't sell
martian material with the statement "may contain traces of martian
life." At least they didn't the last time I checked....

And, yes, D'Orbigny contains cm-sized crystals of translucent, gemmy,
pallasite-like olivine. They compose about 1% of the meteorite, by
volume. I've seen some in some hand-sized specimens that E.T. had for
sale a few years ago, but can't find any great photos online.
Apparently Asu88 contains upwards of 10% similar crystals by volume
(see article linked-to above), but I couldn't find any pictures of
that one.

The interesting thing about your Angrite is the fact that the
translucent crystal is anorthosite. So far as I know, it's the first
time that a translucent *anorthosite* crystal has been found in an
Angrite.

Best,

Jason


On Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 5:28 PM, Greg Catterton
<star_wars_collector at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> ""I mean, I guess you could claim that...and yet, reputable dealers don't....""
>
>
>
> I guess you dont check out the Hupes listings for angrites?
>
>
> Greg Catterton
> www.wanderingstarmeteorites.com
> IMCA member 4682
> On Ebay: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/wanderingstarmeteorites
> On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WanderingStarMeteorites
>
>
>
>
> --- On Wed, 7/21/10, Jason Utas <meteoritekid at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> From: Jason Utas <meteoritekid at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Its official! NWA 6291 "The King of Angrites" for sale - AD
>> To: "Meteorite-list" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>> Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2010, 8:13 PM
>> Hello Greg, All,
>> I managed to turn up these pages:
>>
>> http://www.meteoritestudies.com/protected_DORBIGNY.HTM
>>
>> http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/nwa-2934-angrite-meteorite-possible-nwa-2999-3164-1
>>
>> http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2001/pdf/1876.pdf
>>
>> So, NWA 2836, 2999, 3164 (all three supposedly paired),
>> D'Orbigny, and
>> Asu88 all display similar translucent crystals.
>>
>> Angrites are some of the rarest material on earth - that
>> should stand
>> alone.? Trying to put one in some way "above" the
>> others doesn't make
>> much sense to me.
>>
>> Without getting into this too deeply - researchers have
>> been trying to
>> find a meteorite from another one of the terrestrial
>> planets (other
>> than Mars) for decades.
>> Trying to cram a square peg into a round hole ain't the way
>> to do it.
>>
>> http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1995Metic..30..269L
>>
>> http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1995LPI....26..865L
>>
>> http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20070021589_2007019150.pdf
>>
>> In my opinion, it's a little much to claim that a meteorite
>> came from
>> a single parent body based only three main points:
>> 1) Both are depleted in sodium and are highly refractive
>> (so were
>> other parent bodies that formed in the region).
>> 2) There's an observed feature (corona around a plagioclase
>> crystal)
>> that may have been formed by tectonic action on its parent
>> body...or
>> some other form of decompression or change in conditions
>> while
>> crystallization was taking place...
>> 3) And, yeah, they're from a differentiated body.
>>
>> http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2006/pdf/1344.pdf
>>
>> To be frank, the arguments *against* the origins of
>> Angrites being
>> Mercury are significantly better.
>> 1) They cooled too soon for them to be form Mercury.
>> 2) They have too much iron.
>> 3) The scarping on Mercury isn't present in large enough
>> examples to
>> explain the features observed in Angrites.
>>
>> The things that rule a Mercutian origin out for Angrites
>> are much more
>> basic, sweeping sort of problems.? Their general
>> composition and
>> crystallization ages are *wrong,* based on our
>> understanding of how
>> things formed in the early solar system and the composition
>> of
>> Mercury's crust (this is big-picture stuff).? And
>> compare that to the
>> fact that we have two chemical/petrographic features that
>> suggest that
>> they're from Mercury; the whole differentiated body thing
>> seems kind
>> of overblown at this point.? We now know of *many*
>> ungrouped
>> achondrites that appear to have come from large
>> differentiated bodies.
>> ?Very circumstantial evidence.
>>
>> In my opinion, it's like selling pieces of martian
>> meteorites under
>> the banner of "remains of life may have been found in ALH
>> 84001, so
>> this meteorite I'm selling you may contain traces of
>> martian life."
>>
>> I mean, I guess you could claim that...and yet, reputable
>> dealers don't....
>> I have the feeling that this whole 'Angrites are from
>> Mercury' problem
>> is getting overlooked a bit because there's no media frenzy
>> of 'LIFE'
>> surrounding it.? Either way, the critical literature
>> seems to carry
>> *significantly* more weight, from a relatively objective
>> observer's
>> point of view.
>>
>> I've heard similar comments from various well-regarded
>> researchers.
>> Check your May 2008 Meteorite magazines.
>> Melinda Hutson notes that "Four of the eight arguments
>> given in the
>> original abstract on NWA 2999 actually argue against
>> Mercury as the
>> Angrite parent body."? In fact, she goes on to
>> repudiate every single
>> point, relegating them to, at best, circumstantial
>> evidence.
>>
>> In my opinion, dealers need to stop pushing Angrites as
>> being from
>> Mercury.? They're rare enough to warrant being paid
>> whatever for them
>> anyways - compare them to NWA 011, Ibitira, etc.? But
>> cooler because
>> we know more about them.
>> Insubstantial claims regarding their origins need not be
>> made.
>>
>> Yep, got carried away.? Well, they're damn cool and I
>> know more about
>> them now.? Time well spent.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Jason
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 2:21 PM, Greg Catterton
>> <star_wars_collector at yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>> > Hi to all, I am happy to announce that NWA 6291 is an
>> awesome and very rare angrite.
>> >
>> > I have several very nice slices for sale including one
>> of the 4 translucent slices. After extensive research, I
>> have not been able to come across any angrite that has
>> offered translucent crystals and slices like you would find
>> in a pallasite other then this one.
>> >
>> > This is likely paired with NWA 2999, but due to its
>> unique appearance, it stands above and beyond 2999 and any
>> of its pairings enough to raise the question of if it was
>> actually paired or not. NWA 2999 and its pairings are also
>> unique to the angrite class, which makes this one even more
>> special!
>> >
>> > Then there is the possible Mercury connection... how
>> cool is it that this material is thought to be ejecta from
>> the planet Mercury?
>> >
>> > You can see some of the material available for sale
>> here:
>> > http://www.wanderingstarmeteorites.com/Angrite_Meteorites.php
>> >
>> > I also have a very limited amount of thin sections
>> that are very generous is size. Rather then offer a small
>> limited sample for section, I choose to get nice portions
>> that showed the incredible nature of this material at its
>> best.
>> >
>> > Samples for sale are from micros up to the 44 gram
>> main mass.
>> >
>> > Contact me for price and more photos - I am still
>> offering a discount for research use.
>> >
>> > Greg Catterton
>> > www.wanderingstarmeteorites.com
>> > IMCA member 4682
>> > On Ebay: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/wanderingstarmeteorites
>> > On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WanderingStarMeteorites
>> >
>> >
>> >
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Received on Wed 21 Jul 2010 08:44:42 PM PDT


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