Dar al Gani 262 - Lunar meteorite
Dar al Gani 262 - Dar al Gani, Al Jufrah,
Libya, Found 1997, Lunar, Anorthosite, polymict breccia.
A single 513g stone was
found in the Sahara.
Classification and description: contains clasts up to 1 cm,
mainly anorthositic lithologies and crystalline impact melt breccia, and glass
fragments and spherules embedded in a fine-grained, well-consolidated matrix; bulk
plagioclase, olivine, low_Ca pyroxene; has shock veins; contains metal particles,
ilmenite, troilite, Ti-Cr-spinel; moderately weathered.
Dar al Gani 400 - Lunar meteorite
Dar al Gani 400 - Dar al Gani, Libya, Found
1998, March 10, Lunar, Anorthosite breccia.
A 1.425 kg stone was found in the Sahara.
Classification and description: the
meteorite is partly covered with a brownish fusion crust; fresh surfaces are
grey to dark grey. The matrix is well consolidated; clasts include subophitic
and fine-grained to microporphyritic impact-melt breccias, granulitic fragments,
intergranularly recristallised anorthosites, and mineral fragments. Chemical and
O isotope composition is characteristic of lunar highland meteorites.
Dhofar 490 -
Lunar meteorite
Dhofar 490 - 18°43.00'N 54°27.00'E, Oman, Found 2001 March 17, Lunar meteorite (anorthositic
fragmental breccia)
A dark grey, crusted stone weighing 34.05 g was found in the
Dhofar, region of Oman. Meteorite is an anorthositic fragmental breccia
consisting of clasts of various lithologies embedded into a glassy, partly
devitrified fine-grained matrix; the clast size is generally below 3 mm;
vesicles are abundant; feldspar: An96.0-99.3; pyroxene: Fs11.5-35.7Wo8.2-44.9
and olivine: Fa30.6-50.0; augites dominate over Ca-poor pyroxenes and often
contain pigeonite exsolution lamellae; accessory phases are Fe-Ni metal and
ilmenite; crystalline fragments include microporphyritic impact melt breccias,
intersertal impact melt clasts, gabbroic anorthosites, and large feldspar; no
mare basalt clasts and no glass spherules have been identified; feldspar
generally shows pronounced undulatory extinction and sometimes mosaicism
indicating strong shock metamorphism; the meteorite is moderately weathered;
gypsum, celestite and calcite occur in cracks and holes; Dhofar 490 may be
paired with Dhofar 280 since they were found nearby and have similar
mineralogical characteristics.
Nordwest Africa 479 -
Lunar meteorite
Northwest Africa 479, Lunar meteorite (mare basalt), Found 2000 November.
A 156 g stone was collected in Morocco in the area of Khter n'Aļt Khebbach, the
exact location is unknown. Classification and mineralogy: consists of
phenocrysts of olivine, pyroxene and chromite in a groundmass of pyroxene and
calcic plagioclase; texture closely resembles that of NWA 032; mineral
compositions are identical to those reported for NWA 032
Classification and mineralogy (NWA 032): olivine, pyroxene, and chromite phenocrysts occur in a groundmass of elongate, zoned pyroxene (En1-25Wo15-25) and feldspar (~An85) crystals radiating from common nucleation sites; opaque phases include elongate, skeletal ilmenite, troilite, and trace metal; olivine phenocrysts (~12 vol%) up to 300 µm are zoned from Fo65 (cores) to Fo60 (rims), and commonly have chromite inclusions; pyroxene phenocrysts (~5 vol%) are complexly zoned, with En40-50Wo20-40 and En15-25Wo10-20 domains; both olivine and pyroxene phenocrysts surrounded by Fe-rich quenched margins (olivines, ~Fo30; pyroxenes, En5-25Wo15-30); glass with ~45.7 wt% SiO2 occurs in semi-continuous shock veins up to 50 µm wide; some terrestrial weathering products are present in fractures, but primary assemblage is essentially unaltered.