Class: TBD
Found: Northwest Africa
These are larger chondrites that have not been cut or polished yet. Meteorites are found like this in the desert of Northwest Africa. So many have been found that thousands have not been classified.
How do we know these are meteorites? The first big clue is that they look like a regular rock - but they are attracted to a magnet!
Class: R4
Found: Kenya in 2004
Inclusions in these meteorites are composed of surface rock that is different than the igneous rock in which they are embedded. This indicates that these have been the object of many impact events. Some believe that these were formed in the early solar system nebula, before chondrules.
R chondrites are extremely rare; only 25 falls are known. They are the opposite of the E chondrites. They are highly oxidized with practically no free metal at all and are very weakly attracted to a magnet.
Note: All meteorite photographs include a 1 cm scaling cube for sizing reference. Click on the image to expand.
Class: TBD
Found: Livingston, WI 2010
These are specimens from the fireball that exploded over southwest Wisconsin on April 14, very near the town that I grew up in. Early indications are that it is a brecchiated H5 chondrite. Brecchiated means that it is composed of fragments of larger rocks.
In order to make apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.
- Carl Sagan
