TATAHOUINE - FROM THE ASTEROID BELT AND THE. HOME OF LUKE SKYWALKER. ...

Description

TATAHOUINE - FROM THE ASTEROID BELT AND THE
HOME OF LUKE SKYWALKER
Diogenite - ADIO
Tunisia
While 99.8% of all meteorites originate from the vast area between
Mars and Jupiter referred to as the asteroid belt, Tatahouine is one of
the few meteorites known which possesses a specific address of origin
(the other noteworthy examples being Martian meteorites and
samples of the Moon). Diogenites are an exotic meteorite class that
scientists believe originated from the asteroid Vesta, and Tatahouine
is a one-of-a-kind diogenite.
On July 27, 1931 just outside the Tunisian town of Foum
Tatahouine, a meteorite descending through the atmosphere exploded
into thousands of small fragments, most of which weighed less than
one gram. The specimen offered here-collected by noted French
meteoriticist Dr. Alain Carion and his son, Louis-is an exception.
Given its distinctively olive green matrix, striated black shock veins
and accretions of shock melt, there is no other meteorite that looks
remotely like Tatahouine.
In a different vein, the home planet of Luke Skywalker was
named "Tatooine" in acknowledgement of the scenes of Star Wars
shot near Foum Tatahouine. 28 x 12 x 7 mm and 5.1 grams

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