Lot Details

NWA 15035 — MAIN MASS OF A METEORITE WHOSE HEART IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE

Chondrite – H3; Sahara Desert

Estimation : 8500 - 12000 USD


The collective weight of every meteorite known is less than the world’s annual output of gold. Meteorites are rare — and the specimen offered now has benefitted from some fortuitous natural sculpting. NWA 15035 is almost entirely covered in fusion crust — the result of frictional heating while plummeting through Earth’s atmosphere. Surficial temperatures reach as high as 3100°F — nearly a third as hot as the surface of the Sun. The sloping front face evidences in-flight fragmentation shortly after it struck Earth’s atmosphere. This is evident as a result of being covered in fusion crust — except for a hollow in the shape of a heart which reveals large inclusions of iron. H chondrites (the H stands for a high amount of iron) possess similar trace element abundances and oxygen isotope ratios as the IIE iron meteorite subgroup. This supports the likelihood that H chondrites and IIE irons originate from the same region of the solar system. NWA 15035’s milk chocolate-hued patina is naturally sandblasted to a sheen. On the reverse a cut and polished window provides a glimpse of the meteorite’s internal matrix; a small sample was removed to enable the meteorite to be analyzed, classified and officially named to enable publishing in the Meteoritical Bulletin — the journal of record. The polished face reveals an unusual black inclusion in its ebony-hued matrix along with numerous chondrules and bright metallic flakes suspended throughout. Upon further analysis, the inclusion is ultramafic (i.e., an igneous rock from the mantle of a planetary body characterized by a very high percentage of olivine and pyroxene and little silica). Also rather curiously, the matrix exposed in the heart-shaped concavity is a light gray; as this is at variance with the matrix seen on the reverse, this is a chondrite breccia containing clasts of different lithologies. From originally beyond the orbit of Mars, now offered is a meteorite with a good heart. Accompanied by a custom pedestal. Chris

Date de la vente : 12-12-2025

Adresse : ONLINE 24589

Ville : NEW YORK

Maison : Christies