Meteorite NWA 15682 – 6,1g – Northwest Africa
Type: HED Achondrite / Howardite
Locality: Northwest Africa
Weight: 6,1g
Dimensions: 35 x 23 x 6 mm
Year found: 2022
Total known weight: 984 g
Surface treatment: endcut, polished
Free gift
For order over 20 $
Shipping within 2 working days
Meteorite NWA 15682 – a rare howardite with carbonaceous inclusions
Meteorite NWA 15682 is a rare howardite belonging to the group of HED achondrites. It was found in 2022 in the region of Northwest Africa. The total known weight is approximately 984 grams, divided into 11 fragments, the largest of which weighed 116 g, 131 g, 147 g, and 204 g.
From a petrological perspective, it is a brecciated achondrite, composed mainly of clasts of diogenite and eucrite embedded in a light gray fine-grained matrix. This meteorite contains a wide range of minerals – low- and high-Ca pyroxene, plagioclase, olivine, as well as troilite, metallic iron with nickel, merrillite, ilmenite, chromite, and also secondary calcite.
CM2 carbonaceous inclusions – a rare feature
A unique feature of meteorite NWA 15682 is the presence of carbonaceous material admixtures, specifically fragments of CM2-type meteorites. These inclusions originate from primitive carbonaceous chondrites and include, among others, chondrules (spherical silicate structures) and CAIs (calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions – very ancient mineral formations from the early solar system).
The occurrence of such carbonaceous inclusions is very rare in howardites and suggests that the parent body of the meteorite (most likely the asteroid Vesta) experienced collisions with carbonaceous bodies in the past, during which this foreign material was embedded into its surface. The resulting mixture was subsequently compacted by further impacts – a process that reflects the complex collisional history and layered structure of the body from which the meteorite originated.