Canyon Diablo is the meteorite that created the famous Meteor Crater / Barringer Crater about 50 miles east of Flagstaff, New Mexico. The specimen on the left is a small, intact fragment of the huge impacting body. The specimen on the right is an unusual shrapnel-type shape.
The Campo del Cielo meteorite has been known for over 400 years. It comes from a destroyed asteroid that was just beginning to form its molten iron core.
The sample at left is smaller and shows the different orientation of the iron and nickel crystals that formed the meteorite. This is a coarse octahedrite - meaning the crystals are 8-sided and large. Compare this with Gibeon.
The right sample is much larger (approximately 3.6 pounds) - a complete, uncut specimen. It has the black fusion crust left from entry into the atmosphere.
Irons come from the core of asteroids; they are the cooled iron core of the parent body. They are categorized by the ratio of iron to nickel in their composition. These different ratios reveal themselves by patterns of lines seen when a polished surface is etched with acid. The three classes are hexahedrites, octahedrites, and ataxites. All of my specimens are octahedrites.
