Varre-Sai        20°51.041'S, 41°44.808'W

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Fell: 19 June 2010, 21:00 UT

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L5)

History: At about 21:00 UT (around noon local time) on June 19, 2010, a bright fireball was observed over the eastern side of Brazil. Mr. Germano, who lives at the border of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo, heard several explosions and saw two black objects falling. One ~600 g stone fell about 15 m from him. Early the next day, he found another piece beneath a banana tree. The site of the fall belongs to the city of Varre-sai. The precise location is about 17 km from Varre-Sai (Rio de Janeiro state) and 8 km from Guaçui (Espírito Santo state). The first piece recovered was about 100 m inside the border of the state of Rio de Janiero.

Physical characteristics: Five masses with a total weight of about 2.5 kg were recovered. Most stones are partly to fully fusion crusted. Broken and cut surfaces are light gray with a few black shock veins.

Petrography: (M.E. Zucolotto, L.L. Antonello, M.E. Varela) Chondrules and chondrule fragments are observed in a recrystallized matrix cut by dark thin veins. Mineralogy dominated by olivine, pyroxene, plagioclase, sulfides and Fe-Ni metal. Olivine shows undulatory extinction and mosaicism. Larger grains show fractures and PDFs. Pyroxenes (mostly orthopyroxene) exhibit similar texture as the olivine. Plagioclase typically to 50 μm, some showing undulatory extinction, while a few are twinned. Troilite and Fe-Ni metal occur as irregularly shaped grains. Chondrules range in size from 0.3 to 5 mm, with a mean size of ~0.8 mm. Clearly discernible are a RP (~1.9 mm) and a BO (~2.2 mm) chondrules.

Geochemistry: Mineral compositions and geochemistry: (Magnelli, D, E.and M.E.Varela) Olivine (Fa_25.0±0.2, low-Ca pyroxene (Fs_21.66±0.2Wo_1.49).

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L5) Shock stage S4, Weathering W0

Specimens: 35 g from the first recovered mass in MNRJ, plus two thin sections and a polished stub.