COMPLETE SLICE OF ABEE - SUPERLATIVE EXAMPLE OF A LEGENDARY METEORITE. Enstatite Chondrite - EH4 (Impact Melt Breccia) ...

Description

COMPLETE SLICE OF ABEE - SUPERLATIVE EXAMPLE OF A LEGENDARY METEORITE
Enstatite Chondrite - EH4 (Impact Melt Breccia)
Alberta, Canada

It is a widely believed that the Canadian enstatite chondrite, Abee, is among the world's most beautiful stone meteorites-and this is a superlative example. Abee fell in the community of Abee, Alberta at 11:05pm on June 9, 1952. It's a one-of-a-kind meteorite whose blend of angular fragments are the result of a cosmic impact event (i.e., a collision between asteroids) long before its arrival on Earth. Exhibiting Abee's finest attributes, this elongated partial slice was acquired directly from the New England Meteorite Laboratory, the entity responsible for specimens outside of Canada. The Abee main mass is on display at the national Geological Museum in Ottawa; it is the only "EH4 Impact Melt Breccia" documented. ("EH" refers to a high amount of free iron in an enstatite chondrite and the 4 refers to its petrologic type-the study of a rock's composition, structure and formation-which in this instance refers to abundant chondrules substantially metamorphosed by pressure and heat. This aesthetic partial slice, with a break that has been repaired, exhibits large clasts artfully distributed in the matrix and one long ring of fusion crust; this is an outstanding representation of a much sought-after meteorite.
It measures 175 x 67 x 5mm (6.75 x 2.66 x 0.2 inches) and 158.79 grams.

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