Sayh al Uhaymir 005 and Sayh al Uhaymir 008

Oman

Found 1999 November 26

Martian basalt (shergottite)

At two locations, 1864 m apart, five grey-greenish stones were found that are macroscopically identical.  Sayh al Uhaymir (SaU) 005 comprises one fragment of 547 g and two individuals of 561 and 236 g, which are partially covered by fusion crust and show regmaglyptes. Sayh al Uhaymir 008 comprises one large individual of 7805 g and a smaller fragmented individual of 774 g.  On the latter, the fresh black fusion crust is almost completely preserved.  The total mass of SaU 005/008 is 9923 g.  Mineralogy and classification (J. Zipfel, MPI):  porphyritic texture with large olivine phenocrysts (Fo_64–71) in a fine-grained groundmass of pigeonite (En_61–70Wo_6–13) and maskelynite (An_51–65Or_0.3–0.9); minor phases are augite, phosphates, and opaques; strongly shocked:  mosaicism and planar deformation of olivines, twinning and fracturing of clinopyroxene, and up to millimeter-sized shock melted areas with quench textures are common; brown-orange ringlike structures formed by extremely fine-grained intergrowths of unidentified phases are abundant in impact-melt areas and pyroxenes; the meteorite is extremely fresh, with only a few of the larger cracks partially filled with calcite.  Bulk chemical analyses (B. Spettel, G. Dreibus, MPI; H. Palme, Köln), noble gas analyses (M. Paetsch, L. Schultz, MPI), and Sm-Nd systematics (E. Jagoutz, MPI):  texture, bulk chemistry, noble gases, and Sm-Nd systematics indicate a very close relationship to Dar al Gani 476/489/670/735; however, on the basis of the distinct mineral chemistry and the place of find, simple pairing with those meteorites can be excluded.  Specimens:  type specimen, 60 g, MPI; main mass with anonymous finder.