Arabian Peninsula 008 (AP 008)

Najran, Saudi Arabia

Find: October 2020

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (H5)

History: The owner of the meteorite contacted Cascadia via email, in which he said "I found [in] an attic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the region of Najran in the desert, about 75 km from the city in the east direction, in the area of Ramli, the date month 10/2020 and weighing 2406 grams." Four pieces totaling 31.6 g were sent from Saudi Arabia to Cascadia for analysis.

Petrography: (M. Hutson, D. Sheikh, A. Ruzicka, Cascadia): The thin section contains chondrules up to 2 mm across (average size ~550 μm) set within a fine-grained matrix containing Fe-Ni metal, troilite, and accessory chromian spinel and merrilite. Many chondrules appear to contain devitrified glass, with some secondary recrystallized feldspar (up to 50 μm across, average ~15 μm across) present.

Geochemistry: Olivine Fa_18.7±0.4, N=26; Low-Ca pyroxene Fs_16.3±0.2Wo_1.1±0.1, N=13. Chromian spinel: Cr# 0.84±0.1 Mg# 0.19±0.05, N=6

Classification: H5 based on the combination of chemistry and texture. Olivine and pyroxene chemistry are consistent with an equilibrated H-group chondrite, while texture and the combination of devitrified glass and small secondary feldspar grains indicates a petrographic grade near the border of a type 4 or 5.

Specimens: Cascadia holds 28.5 g in three pieces, as well as a polished thin section and material in an epoxy butt; Abdullah bin Bunyan bin Mohammed holds the main mass.