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Northwest Africa 4503
Basic information Name: Northwest Africa 4503
     This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name.
Abbreviation: NWA 4503
Observed fall: No
Year found: 2007
Country: (Northwest Africa)
Mass:help 70 g
Classification
  history:
Meteoritical Bulletin:  MB 93  (2008)  Lunar
Recommended:  Lunar    [explanation]

This is 1 of 106 approved meteorites classified as Lunar.   [show all]
Search for other: Lunar meteorites
Comments: Approved 14 Jan 2008
Revised 4 Aug 2008: final writeup
Writeuphelp
Writeup from MB 93:

Northwest Africa 4503

Northwest Africa

Find: 2007

Achondrite (lunar, anorthositic breccia)

History and Physical characteristics: A 70 g partially crusted stone was purchased in January 2007 by A. Aaronson and sold to a collector in July 2007. The fusion crust is dark to light brown and vermillion in translucent areas.

Petrography: (T. Bunch, J. Wittke, NAU; A. Irving, UWS) This feldspathic melt breccia is dominated by very fine- to medium-grained anorthositic lithologies that are typically enriched in olivine (anorthositic troctolites and gabbros) together with a large fraction of plagioclase, olivine, and exsolution-textured pyroxene fragments. Shock-melt clasts, K-, Ba-rich glasses, and fayalite-pyroxene-quartz igneous lithologies are also present. One granophyre clast shows a granophyric or micrographic texture of oriented quartz inclusions in alkali feldspar surrounded by shock-melted plagioclase. Most of the matrix is glassy and vesicular with included mineral fragments. Weathering effects are minimal.

Mineral compositions: Gabbro: olivine (Fa34.8; FeO/MnO = 88), augite (Fs14.6Wo41.8; FeO/MnO = 42), plagioclase (An97.6), chromite (cr# = 74). Troctolite: olivine (Fa27.9; FeO/ MnO = 83). Norite: orthopyroxene (Fs24.8Wo2.5; FeO/ MnO = 55), augite (Fs20.4Wo38.9). Basaltic pyroxene fragments, host = Fs46.9Wo2.4, exsolution lamellae = Fs19.8Wo43.4. Granophyre K-feldspar (Or72Ab18.3).

Classification: Achondrite (lunar, anorthositic breccia).

Type specimens: A total of 14 g is on deposit at NAU. The main mass holder is anonymous.

Submitted by: T. Bunch, NAU.

Data from:
  MB93
  Table 2
  Line 59:
Place of purchase:Northwest Africa
Date:January 2007
Mass (g):70
Pieces:1
Class:Lunar
Type spec mass (g):14
Institutions
   and collections		 NAU: Geology, Bldg 12 Knoles Dr Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, United States; Website (institutional address; updated 12 Apr 2012)
UWS: University of Washington, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, 70 Johnson Hall, Seattle, WA 98195, United States (institutional address; updated 15 Jan 2012)
Aaronson: Sahara Overland Ltd., Harhora, Temara, 12000, Morocco (private address; updated 3 Jan 2010)
Catalogs:
References: Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 93, MAPS 43, 571-632 (2008)
Find references in NASA ADS:
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Geography: 
Coordinates:Unknown.

Statistics:
     This is 1 of 9710 approved meteorites from (Northwest Africa) (plus 1853 unapproved names)
Also see:
  This lists the most popular meteorites among people who looked up this meteorite.
Revision
  history:
  This lists important revisions made to data for this record.

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