Chug Chug 015        22°29.573’S, 69°14.896’W

Antofagasta, Chile

Find: 2018 Oct 16

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (H5/6)

History: Meteorite (1 piece) was found on October 16, 2018, by Ilya Chaplygin during a desert meteorite search organized by Timur Kryachko.

Physical characteristics: Single stone, 3055 g, with angular shape, flat sides, and rounded edges, covered with dull dark-brown fusion crust partly missing on the edges. One side is broken revealing solid brown surface. Bottom part is covered with light-colored desert material. Fresh cut of the meteorite is dark gray and exhibits lots of fine grained metal. Dimensions 10.5 × 15 × 8.5 cm.

Petrography: (P. Yu. Plechov, FMMR). The meteorite contains rare relics of barred-olivine chondrules about 300 μm in diameter. Olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, plagioclase and metallic blebs are the main minerals in matrix. Metallic blebs (200-400 μm) have irregular shape and consist of kamacite, taenite and troilte. Plagioclase grains are about 50 µm. This indicates a petrological type of 5 or 6 for the meteorite. Olivine has no undulatory extinction, and opaque shock veins and melt pockets are absent, indicating a shock stage of S1. Rare dark-yellowish cracks (up to 1 mm in length) occur. Olivine, pyroxene, chromite, metal and troilite are fresh and not weathered. No oxidation rims around troilite or metal (weathering grade W0).

Geochemistry: Mineral composition and Geochemistry: EDS analyses (V.I. Taskaev, IGEM RAS). The primary chondrite paragenesis includes olivine Fa_18.8±0.3 (N=20), orthopyroxene Fs_15.9±0.7Wo_1.3±0.2 (N=15), plagioclase Ab_82.1An_11.5Or_6.4 (N=2), clinopyroxene En_49.3Fs_5.5Wo_45.1 (N=1). Composition of kamacite (in wt.%, N=12): Fe 93.5, Ni 5.6, Co 0.6. Taenite (N=9) contain 43.1 and 0.1 wt.% of Ni and Co, respectively.

Classification: (P. Yu. Plechov, FMMR). Ordinary chondrite, H5/6, W0, S1

Specimens: Mr. I. Chaplygin holds main mass 2.5 kg. 475 g, FMMR.