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Bassikounou
Basic information Name: Bassikounou
     This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name.
Abbreviation: There is no official abbreviation for this meteorite.
Observed fall: Yes
Year fell: 2006
Country: Mauritania
Mass:help 29.56 kg
Classification
  history:
Meteoritical Bulletin:  MB 92  (2007)  H5
Recommended:  H5    [explanation]

This is 1 of 11487 approved meteorites (plus 22 unapproved names) classified as H5.   [show all]
Search for other: H chondrites, H chondrites (type 4-7), Ordinary chondrites, and Ordinary chondrites (type 4-7)
Comments: Approved 24 Jul 2007
Writeuphelp
Writeup from MB 92:

 Bassikounou                       15°47'N, 5°54'W

Bassikounou, Hodh Ech Chargui, Mauritania

Fall: 16 October 2006; 04:00 UTC

Ordinary chondrite (H5)

History: A fireball was witnessed in the area, but no records of the direction of movement were recorded. A single stone of 3165 g was found by A. Salem El Moichine, a local resident, on the same day at 13:00 hr local time, 11 km SE of Bassikounou. The sample for classification was provided to NMBE by M. Ould Mounir, Nouakchott, who obtained it from his cousin who recovered the meteorite. According to S. Buhl (Hamburg, Germany), more than 20 specimens were later recovered by locals and meteorite finders. These finds define a 8 km long strewnfield. The total recovered mass is 46.00 kg.

Physical characteristics: The 3165 g specimen is largely covered by black fusion crust. The interior is light gray. On the surface of the fusion crust there is some adherent soil material, some of which is bright red. Shortly after recovery, the stone was cut into two pieces of 1200 and 1950 g. The larger piece has a rectangular shape and shows indications of flow-lines in the fusion crust.

Petrography: (E. Gnos, MHNGE; B. Hofmann, NMBE, M. Eggimann, Bern/NMBE): Mean chondrule size 0.35 mm (n=53). Metal abundance is 8 vol%, troilite 6.6 vol%. Mean plagioclase grain size is ~20 mm. Troilite is polycrystalline, rich in silicate inclusions, and shows diffuse boundaries to metal. Metal is partly rich in silicate- and troilite inclusions. Rare metallic Cu (10 mm) occurs at kamacite-taenite boundaries and in troilite. Some shock veins and no weathering products were observed.

Mineral compositions: Olivine (Fa18.6), pyroxene (Fs16.3 Wo1.1), plagioclase (An13.7).

Cosmogenic radionuclides: (P. Weber, PPGUN) Gamma-spectroscopy performed in December-January 2006 showed the presence of the following radionuclides: 48V, 46Sc, 56Co, 54Mn, 58Co, 7Be, 51Cr, 57Co, 22Na, 26Al and 60Co. Recalculated to 12 October 2006 22Na was 38.0±2.2 and 26Al 31.5±2.1 (both dpm/kg), the activity ratio of 1.21 is fully consistent with a fall on that date.

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (H5); S2, W0.

Type specimens: A total of 115 g are on deposit at NMBE. Boudreaux holds the main mass.

Data from:
  MB92
  Table 1
  Line 18:
State/Prov/County:11 km SE of Bassikounou, Hodh Ech Chargu
Date:12-Oct-2006
Latitude:15°47'N
Longitude:5°54'W
Mass (g):29560
Pieces:>20
Class:H5
Shock stage:S2
Weathering grade:W0
Fayalite (mol%):18.6
Ferrosilite (mol%):16.3
Type spec mass (g):115
Institutions
   and collections
NMBE: Natural History Museum Bern Bernastrasse 15 CH-3005 Bern Switzerland, Switzerland; Website (institutional address; updated 2 Mar 2012)
MHNGE: Muséum d’histoire naturelle, Route de Malagnou 1, CH-1211 Genève 6 , Switzerland (institutional address; updated 27 Oct 2011)
Bern: University of Bern, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland (institutional address)
Boudreaux: Terry Boudreaux, Illinois, United States (private address)
PPGUN: Partick Weber, Particle Physics Group, Institute of Physcis, Univeristy of Neuchâtel, Switzerland (institutional address)
Catalogs:
References: Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 92, MAPS 42, 1647-1694 (2007)
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Geography:

Mauritania
Coordinates:
     Recommended::   (15° 47'N, 5° 54'W)

Statistics:
     This is 1 of 2 approved meteorites from Hodh ech Chargui, Mauritania
     This is 1 of 217 approved meteorites from Mauritania (plus 2 unapproved names) (plus 2 impact craters)
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