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2.03" Uruaçu Iron Meteorite Fragment (69.7 g) - Brazil
This is a 2.03" wide (69.7 grams) Uruaçu iron meteorite from Brazil.
The Uruaçu Meteorite
The Uruaçu meteorite is the name given to a 73-kilogram IAB iron meteorite found on a ranch near the town of Uruaçu, Brazil in 1992. It is characterized by an orange-ochre patina on its exteriors and Widmanstätten lines in its interiors upon etching. Its patterns are very similar to those of the Sikhote-Alin meteorite of Russia.
Compared to other iron meteorite finds, Uruaçu has quite a small total known mass: less than 100 kilograms have been recovered, while most iron meteorites have masses well into the metric tons. It contains traces of uncommon cohenite, an iron carbide, and schriebersite. According to the Meteoritical Bulletin, its bulk chemical composition is almost indistinguishable from the Campo del Cielo meteorite, which fell 2800 kilometers southeast in northern Argentina. The two falls may very well be paired.
Its entire strewn field sits on privately owned land. Since its discovery, all pieces have been found and subsequently brought to market by the landowner and their agents.
The Uruaçu meteorite is the name given to a 73-kilogram IAB iron meteorite found on a ranch near the town of Uruaçu, Brazil in 1992. It is characterized by an orange-ochre patina on its exteriors and Widmanstätten lines in its interiors upon etching. Its patterns are very similar to those of the Sikhote-Alin meteorite of Russia.
Compared to other iron meteorite finds, Uruaçu has quite a small total known mass: less than 100 kilograms have been recovered, while most iron meteorites have masses well into the metric tons. It contains traces of uncommon cohenite, an iron carbide, and schriebersite. According to the Meteoritical Bulletin, its bulk chemical composition is almost indistinguishable from the Campo del Cielo meteorite, which fell 2800 kilometers southeast in northern Argentina. The two falls may very well be paired.
Its entire strewn field sits on privately owned land. Since its discovery, all pieces have been found and subsequently brought to market by the landowner and their agents.
About Iron Meteorites
Iron type meteorites are composed primarily of iron and nickel, and are the remnants of differential cores torn apart at the beginning of the solar system. These metallic meteorites are often the easiest to identify after millions of years post-impact because they are quite different from terrestrial material, especially when it comes to their mass-to-surface area ratio. They are exceptionally heavy for their size since iron is a high-density metal: this is also why the Earth's core is nickel-iron. As planets form, the densest metals form gravitational centers, bringing more and more material into their gravitational pull. In the solar system's rocky planets, these dense materials are most often nickel and iron.
Most iron meteorites have distinctive, geometric patterns called Widmanstätten patterns, which become visible when the meteorite is cut and acid etched. These patterns are criss-crossing bands of the iron-nickel alloys kamacite and taenite that slowly crystalized as the core of the meteorites' parent bodies slowly cooled. Such large alloy crystallizations for mover millions of years and do not occur naturally on Earth, further proving that iron meteorites come from extraterrestrial bodies.
Iron type meteorites are composed primarily of iron and nickel, and are the remnants of differential cores torn apart at the beginning of the solar system. These metallic meteorites are often the easiest to identify after millions of years post-impact because they are quite different from terrestrial material, especially when it comes to their mass-to-surface area ratio. They are exceptionally heavy for their size since iron is a high-density metal: this is also why the Earth's core is nickel-iron. As planets form, the densest metals form gravitational centers, bringing more and more material into their gravitational pull. In the solar system's rocky planets, these dense materials are most often nickel and iron.
Most iron meteorites have distinctive, geometric patterns called Widmanstätten patterns, which become visible when the meteorite is cut and acid etched. These patterns are criss-crossing bands of the iron-nickel alloys kamacite and taenite that slowly crystalized as the core of the meteorites' parent bodies slowly cooled. Such large alloy crystallizations for mover millions of years and do not occur naturally on Earth, further proving that iron meteorites come from extraterrestrial bodies.
TYPE
Iron (IAB-MG)
AGE
LOCATION
Uruaçu, Goiás, Brazil
SIZE
2.03 x 1.13 x .75", 69.7 grams
CATEGORY
ITEM
#287245
