Al Farciya        27°01’27.59"N, 9°44’39.59"W

Morocco/Western Sahara

Confirmed fall: 2019 Aug 20

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L6)

History: (H. Chennaoui Aoudjehane, FSAC: A. Bouragaa "Moroccan Association of Meteorites", F.Z. Jadid FSAC) A fireball was seen by many nomads in Al Farciya area on the night of 19-20 August 2019 at 01:15 am (GMT+1). Eyewitnesses from Al Farciya region Ajanid Youssef and Benabbou Ahmed reported a fireball with red color crossing the clouds followed by two sonic booms. Another eyewitness, Salah Tehlaoui, described a red fireball from the Houza district. The reported direction by Azizi El Hassani and Moha Ould Aicha from Zag was north to south. In the morning of the same day, many hunters went to the area where the fall was expected, namely Al Farciya, and first pieces were found in the evening. Collected pieces show a strewnfield of around 8 × 1 km north to south in a good agreement with the testimonies. The area is mostly known by the name Al Farciya, however, some hunters used the name of Khdim Chham for this fall.

Physical characteristics: (H. Chennaoui Aoudjehane) Some pieces recovered, mostly complete and covered by fusion crust. The internal part of the meteorite shows brecciation with dark and clear grey zones. We notice some millimetric sulfide grains, metal is thin, some chondrules are detected. Shock veins and a kind of layering are visible in the rock. Some complete pieces show primary and secondary fusion crust black and mat. Magnetic susceptibility (H. Chennaoui Aoudjehane) measured by SM30 is log χ (× 10^-9 m³/kg) = 4.94.

Petrography: (C. Agee, UNM) Microprobe examination of a polished mount shows scattered, faint, texturally equilibrated chondrules set in a recrystallized groundmass. Plagioclase grains are ubiquitous with sizes up to 100 microns in diameter. FeNi-metal and troilite observed throughout. Apatite and chromite are ubiquitous minor phases.

Geochemistry: (C. Agee, UNM) Olivine Fa_25.3±0.4, Fe/Mn=49±2, n=10; low-Ca pyroxene Fs_21.3±0.1Wo_1.6±0.2, n=6.

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L6), S3, W0

Specimens: 20.3 g provided by the "Moroccan Association of Meteorites", 12 g provided by Hamza El Harbi (including microprobe mount at UNM 0.8 g) and 9 g provided by Ali Ben Amro on deposit at FSAC. Vincent Jacques holds 142 g (so far the main mass) and 98 g; 118.8 g, 97.6 g, 50.6 g, 35.8 g, 8.1 g, 4.1 g and 1.6 g on a private collection Casablanca.