MGUK 01

MGUK 01 (L4)

Classification led by Jen Mitchell

This meteorite belongs to Gemma Thomas...

This meteorite will possibly receive an official name of '***' - to be confirmed by the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society.

The type specimen (**g) will be on deposit at the University of Plymouth, along with a single, polished block.

***

A Collisional History

This meteorite contains a wide variety of chondrule types, including radial pyroxenes, barred olivine, porphyritic olivines and, more interestingly, a large blob of impact melt!

Impacts were very common in the early Solar System and collisions between asteroids create a huge spike in heat and pressure, crushing and melting the rock which then rapidly crystallises. Impact melts can be found in all meteorite groups, and scientists can use their presence in conjunction with other impact-related features to estimate how much pressure the meteorite experienced and therefore how big the impact was.

Combined Al-Mg-Si element map of MGUK 01, overlain with accessory phases. Green = olivine, blue = pyroxene, pink = plagioclase, white = Fe-metals, yellow = Fe-sulfides, orange = Ca-phosphates. The large purple-blue region in the upper right is an impact melt.

Meteorite Owner

Gemma Thomas

Meteorite Girl UK

Gemma is a meteorite collector and dealer based in SW England, UK, and a registered member of the GMA.

You can find out more about Gemma's collection, Meteorite Girl UK, on her shop web page.