Bumble Bee        34° 12’ 00"N, 112° 09’ 45"W

Arizona, USA

Find: 2004

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (H6)

History: Around the spring of 2004, Mr. Ed Bishop found an unusual rounded brown stone while he was metal detecting for gold, ~1/2 mile west of the ghost town of Bumble Bee, Arizona. He brought the stone to Carleton Moore at ASU, who subsequently purchased it.

Physical characteristics: Well-rounded stone covered in patches of remnant fusion crust. The stone has a shape of a squat teardrop and lacks regmaglypts. Interior is a dark gray-green with a uniform distribution of small metal and troilite grains. Chondrules not visible.

Petrography: (L. Garvie, ASU) Thin section shows largely recrystallized texture with only two recognizable chondrules (both BO, 400 and 450 μm diameter). Olivine grains show straight extinction characteristic of S1. Plagioclase abundant and coarse grained, to 200 μm. Troilite (<200 μm) is single crystal and lacks shock lamellae. Metal dominated by kamacite (<250 μm) and zoned grains with tetrataenite rims and kamacite cores (<150 μm). Only one Cu grain (40 μm) found between troilite-metal grains. Chromite to 200 μm shows rounded outlines and lacks cracks. Scattered phosphates (Ca-Cl and Ca-Mg-Na) to 200 μm.

Geochemistry: (L. Garvie, ASU) Olivine, Fa_19.5±0.2, Fe/Mn=38.9±2.1, n=11. Low Ca pyroxene Fs_17.4±0.2Wo_1.2±0.2, Fe/Mn=23.1±1.5, n=10.

Classification: H6, S1, W1

Specimens: 41 g and one thin section at ASU.