25 replies to this topic

[molniyabeer]

Thought I'd share some recent acquisitions (eBay is a dangerous place...).

I like interesting textures and these fit the bill nicely. First up is a small part slice of NWA 978, a rumurutiite (R3.8). Only 9 examples are known. Of this one, approximately 1 kg was recovered. This is a 2.21g specimen. The chondrules in it are just spectacular, almost a stained glass effect at higher magnification, despite being opaque.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

And a closeup of the chondrules. The orange on black is quite striking.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

Next up is 7.04g part slice of the Lahoma L5 condrite. A somgle 21.8 kilo stone was recovered in 1963. This one had a quite green-toned interior.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

Close up of the Lahoma.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

#3 on the list is a nearly complete 20.59g slice of Oum Dreyga, an H3-5 ordinary chondrite. This was a witnessed fall on Oct 16, 2003 when Moroccan soldiers in the Western Sahara saw the fireball. This is a brecciated sample and you can see a distict change of lithology on the right end where the color goes a slightly deeper grey and the chondrules become much more obvious. Note the single large chondrule in the upper right, 5mm on the long dimension.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

Closeup of the right hand edge.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

One day I'll get a sample of the CV3 Allende meteorite. Until then, I have this sample of NWA 3118, a carbonaceous chondrite from Morocco. TKW is 5.9 kilos and it was recovered in 2003. This has the most obvious and well-defined chondrules of any sample in my collection.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

Closeup of the chondrules. These are very sharp.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

Almost as crisp as the previous one is NWA 4440, an H3.9 chondrite found in 2005. TKW is 403g and this specimen weights 6.6g.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

Here is a closeup of NWA 4440. There is not quite as much contrast between chondrule and matrix as in the CV3 but it's still a pretty stone.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

You may have noted the porosity of NWA 4440. NWA 2380, an LL5 chondrite is even more porous. When I first saw it, my initial reaction was "that's gotta bie a piece of concrete!" This is 21.68g part slice from a single 4.526kg stone.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

Look at all that pore space! Almost seems like it should float (but it doesn't!).

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

Ok, last one for this series. Here is 23.96g part slice of NWA 4971, an H5 chondrite recovered in 2005. TKW is 4.895kg. This one was really cool because of all the metal inside.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[molniyabeer]

And the final shot showing the reflection of all the little metal flakes inside. Really cool!

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Glassthrower]

Sweet specimens! I really like the NWA 3118. It's matrix looks very similar to Allende. The only thing missing is the Allende name.

I've cooled my own jets on buying lately because money has been tight around the household. My usual daily flood in the mailbox has been reduced to a trickle. But I have still managed to acquire a few specimens under the CFO radar.

Some are fairly routine and not really worth posting a photo - like some common Odessa small iron fragments I scored recently for the grand sum of about $5.

Here is one very nice Sikhote specimen I just picked up on eBay - this is destined for my personal collection. The photos in the auction are dark and not good, but I saved them to my desktop and brightened them in Photoshop. There are a lot of nice regmaglypts hiding that dark image! The price was right, so I snagged it. It hasn't arrived yet, so I don't have any better photos of it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/...em=270222325487

One specimen I am very happy with is my new 9+ gram piece of dark-veined Libyan Desert Glass. Reknowned dealer and Carancas Hunter Michael Farmer bought many kilos of LDG in a giant shipment and he sorted through picking out the best pieces for sale to collectors. The low-quality stuff in the batch is destined for Chinese jewelry makers. At the insane price of $5 a gram, he was selling this superb LDG that is loaded down with inclusions. It looks marbled - very clear and then suddenly dark and smoky. I have attached a photo at the end of this post.

Steve, for comparison to your NWA Allende-lookalike, here is a tiny microslice of Allende from my own collection - as you can see, the matrix is nearly identical to the sample you have.

http://i268.photobuc...n/allende-1.jpg

Here's a nice shot of Millbillillie's matrix :

http://i268.photobuc.../millbill-2.jpg

You probably saw this one in another thread, but it's a recent acquisition, so I'll show it off again!

http://i268.photobuc...ion/garza-1.jpg

Here are links to both of the dark LDG photos (front and back) :

http://i268.photobuc...ark-glass-2.jpg
http://i268.photobuc...ark-glass-1.jpg

I don't recall if we discussed this already, but do you have a good 10x loupe?

Regards and clear falling skies!

MikeG

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Glassthrower]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I won this recently also. It arrived yesterday and the photos do not do it justice. It's a great idea - etched and then tumbled Campo pieces. They are then sealed to prevent oxidation. I bought this one to test the quality and I am pleased. I am giving this one as a gift to my son-in-law (in part for designing my business banner) and I'm getting a bigger one for myself.

http://cgi.ebay.com/...em=380012227762

If you are looking for Campos, this guy has some nice ones. BTW, I am not affiliated with him in any way, although maybe I should be!

[molniyabeer]

Thanks, Mike.

Nifty stuff there! You're right, the Allende and 3118 are pretty close. I, too, have a nice piece of LDG but without any inclusions. However, it does have one face that is fantastically carved by wind-blown sand into a series of small scallops. The other sides are more evenly rounded off.

I do have a 10x loupe. It does not appear to have a brand or trademark but was clearly the nicest of the several models they had at the shop, with a much flatter field of focus to it allowing the entire FOV to come to focus. All the others had horrid aberations making the usable FOV less than 1/2 the lens. Price was around $20.

Clear skies.

[molniyabeer]

Mike, looks like the link to your item is no longer working (pulled due to age). Do you have another pic somewhere?

I got a nice large (maybe 8 pound?) campo a couple years ago and have been waiting for the right etched slice to come along to complement it.

[Glassthrower]

Steve, try the link now, I fixed it.

[Jamie76]

Very nice. I really wish I could increase my collection but I'm starting a family (getting married soon) and meteorites have taken a backseat.

[molniyabeer]

Jamie,

Congrats on the pending marriage! Yeah, the rocks can wait (at least until you've got a new washer, dreyer, post-college furniture, etc!)

Clear skies.

[Jamie76]

Thanks Steve.

Hopefully the soon to be wife will understand the whole meteorite thing.

[Glassthrower]

A good piece of advice to win over the spouse :

"But honey, there are a lot worse things a grown man can do with his money, right?"

(and then give the innocent little boy who wants a toy train at Christmas look)

[half meter]

When she says, "They're just rocks... who buys rocks?" it's a good time to remind her that diamonds are just rocks.

[csa/montana]

When she says, "They're just rocks... who buys rocks?" it's a good time to remind her that diamonds are just rocks.

Carol