Discover Top Posts Tagged with #eucrite

Eucrite meteorite found in the Sahara

The eucrites are achondrite-type meteorites of basaltic composition, originating from the crust of the asteroid 4-Vesta. Exploration by the DAWN probe in 2011-2012 confirmed 4-Vesta is a protoplanet, a fossil from the formation of the solar system 4.56 billion years ago.

image and adapted text from here

#eucrite #meteorite #sahara

okay but hear me out, space rocks — meteorite edition.

to anyone who ever said rocks aren’t cool, you’re wrong.

#petrology #geology #mineralogy #meteorite #space #science #thin section #thin section thursday #mesosiderite #chondrite #eucrite #vesta #ureilite #myedit

From outer space to @rbins! The meteorite of Tintigny is the sixth one found in Belgium, and a very special one: a ‘eucrite’ - they make up only 2% of meteorites in the world (just eight are known in Europe). Eucrites are chunks of Vesta, the second biggest asteroid between Mars and Jupiter. Those meteorites can tell us more about how that asteroid was formed and about the historic volcanic activity there. And it’s a polymict eucrite: it has been broken and fused several times, witnessing of several previous impacts on Vesta.

The story behind this meteorite is just great! In 1971 a farmer in Tintigny (province of Luxemburg) heard a BANG and noticed that the roof of his barn was pierced. He found a glossy black fist-size stone that was still burning hot. His son took the mysterious piece to school and his teacher thought it was a meteorite. He could keep it to learn children about astronomy. He became a priest and took the meteorite with him. He preserved the precious stone for 47 years!

In January 2018 he returned the meteorite to the family of the witness and they decided to offer it to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. This week the Tintigny meteorite was inaugurated and will join the five other Belgian meteorites in our Mineral Hall.

We are soo thankful to the Schmitz family and to ‘meteorite guardian’ Mr. Rossignon. It’s one of the rarest specimens in our collection of 989 meteorites (of which 650 officially recognized in the Meteoritical Database)

#naturalsciencesbrussels #natural sciences #Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences #meteorite #eucrite #tintigny #vesta