Martian Shergottite
Oued Dran Valley, East of Tata, Morocco
At about 2 A.M. on July 18, 2011 a bright fireball was observed by several people in the Oued Dran Valley east of Tata, Morocco. The first pristine meteorites were found in October 48 km SSW of Tissint Village. Any meteorite recovered from an observed fall becomes highly sought after and highly valued but Tissint was not just any meteorite, it turned out to be a very rare meteorite that originated on the planet Mars. This meteorite was identified as being from Mars by analyzing its oxygen isotopes.
Because this meteorite is so fresh and was recovered within weeks of its fall in an arid desert, it has tremendous potential for scientists to analyze it to determine the conditions on Mars at the time it was formed and even possibly to find organic matter that might indicate the presence of life.
The host rock solidified out of Martian magma 400-500 million years age and was blasted off the surface of Mars by an asteroid impact around one million years ago.
This small complete meteorite has a 100% pristine glassy black fusion crust showing no weathering. The only way to get a fresher piece of the planet Mars would be to go there and pick one up. Weighing approximately 0.407 grams and measuring 8 x 8 x 3mm. Presented in 8 x 5 1/2 in Riker mount
Martian Shergottite
Oued Dran Valley, East of Tata, Morocco
At about 2 A.M. on July 18, 2011 a bright fireball was observed by several people in the Oued Dran Valley east of Tata, Morocco. The first pristine meteorites were found in October 48 km SSW of Tissint Village. Any meteorite recovered from an observed fall becomes highly sought after and highly valued but Tissint was not just any meteorite, it turned out to be a very rare meteorite that originated on the planet Mars. This meteorite was identified as being from Mars by analyzing its oxygen isotopes.
Because this meteorite is so fresh and was recovered within weeks of its fall in an arid desert, it has tremendous potential for scientists to analyze it to determine the conditions on Mars at the time it was formed and even possibly to find organic matter that might indicate the presence of life.
The host rock solidified out of Martian magma 400-500 million years age and was blasted off the surface of Mars by an asteroid impact around one million years ago.
This small complete meteorite has a 100% pristine glassy black fusion crust showing no weathering. The only way to get a fresher piece of the planet Mars would be to go there and pick one up. Weighing approximately 0.407 grams and measuring 8 x 8 x 3mm. Presented in 8 x 5 1/2 in Riker mount
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
