Northwest Africa 8599 (NWA 8599)

(Northwest Africa)

Purchased: 2014 Jun

Classification: Lunar meteorite

History: Purchased by F. Kuntz in June 2014 from a dealer in Zagora, Morocco.

Physical characteristics: Smooth-surfaced, fine grained, greenish-gray stone (36.5 g) with cross-cutting black veins.

Petrography: (A. Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS) Granuloblastic texture with larger grains of anorthite and very small grains of olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, high-Ca pyroxene, Al-bearing chromite, troilite and taenite.

Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa _23.3-23.5, FeO/MnO = 81-83), low-Ca pyroxene (Fs_18.9-19.6Wo_5.2-4.7; FeO/MnO = 53-58), high-Ca pyroxene (Fs_9.8Wo_40.6, FeO/MnO = 59), plagioclase (An_97.0-97.1Or_0.1). Bulk composition (R. Korotev, WUSL) INAA of subsamples gave the following mean abundances (in wt.%) FeO 5.4, Na₂O 0.23; (in ppm) Sc 7.1, Ni 140, La 0.71, Sm 0.37, Eu 0.55, Yb 0.34, Lu 0.05, Hf 0.23, Th 0.08.

Classification: Lunar (troctolitic granulitic breccia). On the basis of essentially identical texture, mineralogy and bulk composition, this specimen is paired with NWA 5744.

Specimens: 7.47 g including one polished slice at PSF; main mass with Kuntz.