Almahata Sitta Meteorite Fragments - First Meteorite Tracked At Entry

This is a gorgeous little specimen: two fusion-crusted fragments of the Almahata Sitta meteorite. They come in an acrylic display case.

Almahata Sitta is the name given to the fragments of a tiny asteroid named TC3 that fell in the Nubian Desert in 2008. In fact, this meteorite's fall was the first to ever be tracked along its entry: its path was first picked up at the observatory at Mount Lemmon in Tucson, Arizona, and was followed by several other observatories until it made landfall. The meteorite exploded over the desert, leaving numerous small fragments totaling 3.95 kilograms.

Almahata Sitta falls into an unusual category of meteorites called ureilites. They tend to be almost entirely olivine-pigeonite, and have high percentages of carbon bby weight. In fact, ureilites are often identified by the graphite and nanodiamonds that often form within them. Their origins are unknown, though since some of their features can only occur under high pressure over a long time, some suggest they could be the remnants of a planetary embryo.