On Offer: 0.85 gram Martian meteorite. This is an exceptional specimen of the olivine-phyric shergottite, Amgala 001. This martian meteorite is known to contain olivine phenocrysts. These are olivine crystals that are significantly larger than the rest of the meteorite's crystal grains, which for Amgala 001 are usually hi-CA prismatic pyroxenes. The olivine phenocrysts in this martin meteorite have been reported as large as 2mm.
| Amgala 001 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Basic information | Name: Amgala 001 This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name. Abbreviation: There is no official abbreviation for this meteorite. Observed fall: No Year found: 2022 Country: Western Sahara Mass:  34.67 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Classification history: |
This is 1 of 318 approved meteorites (plus 2 unapproved names) classified as Martian (shergottite). [show all] Search for other: Martian meteorites | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Comments: | Approved 30 Jul 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Writeup | Writeup from MB 112: Amgala 001 26.014°N, 11.020°W Saguia el Hamra, Western Sahara Purchased: 2022 Dec Classification: Martian meteorite (Shergottite) History: Multiple stones were found together in December 2022 near Meharrize. Said Muftah Bachir and Ziyao Wang bought 12 kg together from the finders, including the largest 5200 g individual; Mark Lyon acquired 19165 g from two different dealers; Aziz Habibi obtained 3500 g from another dealer. Physical characteristics: Weathered exterior surfaces of the stones are brown with a distinctive knobby appearance. Fresh interiors are greenish-gray with darker olivine phenocrysts visible. Petrography: (A. Irving, UWS, and P. Carpenter, WUSL) Zoned olivine phenocrysts (up to 2 mm in length) are set in a groundmass with variable grainsize composed predominantly of prismatic, zoned clinopyroxene and lath-like maskelynite, together with accessory alkali feldspar, pyrrhotite, ulvöspinel, chromite (with variable Ti content), ilmenite, baddeleyite and chlorapatite. Thin opaque shock veins crosscut the specimen as well as secondary calcite veinlets. Olivine phenocrysts contain small patches of alteration products (red-brown in thin section). Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa31.7-56.6, FeO/MnO = 52-55, N = 5), pigeonite (Fs27.7-48.4Wo10.4-9.8, FeO/MnO = 29-35, N = 3), subcalcic augite (Fs20.7-30.4Wo32.5-34.6, FeO/MnO = 28-32, N = 2), maskelynite (An47.4-50.5Or2.2-1.7, N = 2), alkali feldspar (Ab49.4Or34.0An16.7). Classification: Shergottite (olivine-phyric). Specimens: 68.3 g including one polished thin section at UWB; remainder with Mr. S. Bachir/WangZ (12 kg), Mr. M. Lyon (19165 g) and Mr. A. Habibi (3500 g). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Data from: MB112 Table 0 Line 0: |
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| Institutions and collections | UWS: University of Washington, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, 70 Johnson Hall, Seattle, WA 98195, United States (institutional address; updated 15 Jan 2012) WUSL: Washington Univ., One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, United States (institutional address; updated 17 Oct 2011) UWB: University of Washington, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Box 353010 Seattle, WA 98195, United States (institutional address; updated 9 Oct 2023) WangZ: Ziyao Wang, Hebei GEO University North Campus, Huai An dong road 127, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province , China (private address; updated 25 Jun 2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||