Name: Bates Nunataks 00300 This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name. Abbreviation: BTN 00300 Observed fall: No Year found: 2000 Country: Antarctica [Collected by US Antarctic Search for Meteorites program (ANSMET)] Mass: 124.6 g
Macroscopic Description: Kathleen McBride
The exterior is 100% fully covered with fusion crust. It has no chips or cracks and looks as though it fell to earth yesterday. The fusion crust is black, glassy and has a ropy texture. The interior has a sandy texture, tan in color giving the appearance similar to sandstone. Binocular microscope shows dense, fine-grained clear yellow (citrine colored) and root beer colored crystals. There are some black mineral grains as well. This meteorite was much more dense and difficult to break than most other similar looking stones.
Thin Section (,2) Description: Tim McCoy and Linda Welzenbach
Cross-Polarized Light
Cross-Polarized Light
The meteorite exhibits an unbrecciated, fine-grained (~200 micron average grain size) structure of pyroxene and feldspar. Pyroxenes are finely-exsolved with lamellae from 1-5 microns and a range of compositions from Fs28Wo35 to Fs49Wo7, as well as a range of intermediate composition. Plagioclase is An87Or0.5. The Fe/Mn ratio of the pyroxene is ~29. The meteorite is a eucrite.
124.6 g
