Class: Ureilite
Found: Sahara desert in 2003
Ureilites are extremely rare; less than 75 pounds exists worldwide. They are also among the most mysterious of meteorites because there is little agreement on their origin. They have characteristics similar to rock deep in a parent body as well as rock near the surface. No one knows for sure..
Class: Aubrite
Found: Kansas 1948
Aubrites are formed from both magma (molten rock) and brecchia / rock fragments. They are heavily brecchiated, which indicates that they resulted from a major collision of two bodies. Spectral analysis of known asteroids points to the asteroid 3103 Eger as the parent body. 3103 Eger has a near-Earth orbit.
Class: Angrite
Found: Morocco or Algeria 2004
Angrites are very rare; only 17 have been ever been found. They are typically achondrites that have experienced rapid cooling. This meteorite has been determined to be 4.56 billion years old. The crystalline structure and mineral composition cause many experts to conclude that Angrites are ejected from the planet Mercury due to a major impact event. NWA 2999 may contain traces of the impacting body.
Note: All meteorite photographs include a 1 cm scaling cube for sizing reference. Click on the image to expand.
Class: WInonaite
Found: Morocco in June, 2005
Winonaites are named after an unusual meteorite that was discovered wrapped and buried in a stone crypt / cist in an Arizona Pueblo village - as though it were a sacred object. They are similar to Type IAB irons and may have come from the same parent body area where liquid metal mixed with silicates. This specimen has been etched to show Widmenstatten lines.
Class: Lodranite
Found: Morocco 2008
Lodranites are extremely rare. Originally, these were classified with the stony irons, since they both have about equal amounts of nickel-iron and stony material. However, they now are thought possibly to have come from the same parent body deep within the interior - but not deep enough to where the material would differentiate into metal and stone.
Class: Brachinite
Found: Morocco or Algeria 2005
Brachinites are perhaps the most rare of the primitive achondrites. They are the most olivine-rich metreorites.
In order to make apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.
- Carl Sagan
Primitive achondrites resemble chondrites in their composition but lack chondrules. They are not highly differentiated (meaning that their heavier nickel and iron have not been separated out), indicating that they formed on small asteroids that wouldn't have the mass required for differentiation. It is believed that these small asteroids were broken apart by collisions and the resulting heat destroyed the chondrules.
