Northwest Africa 15930 (NWA 15930)

(Northwest Africa)

Purchased: 11 Apr 2013

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L5)

History: A 47 g end piece of the meteorite was sent to Cascadia by John Shea, who purchased the sample on ebay on April 11, 2013, from Adam Bates (BC Meteorites, IMCA #3213, ebay username bc-meteorites). Adam Bates purchased the sample in early 2012 from an anonymous Moroccan dealer in Quarzazate, Morocco as part of a lot of unclassified stones. On January 19, 2021, Martin Goff emailed Cascadia that he had "recently acquired a box of NWA Chondrites that came from US collector John/Johannes Shea", including CML 0751.

Physical characteristics: Physical Characteristics: Cascadia received an end cut with a dark black/brown fusion crusted exterior. The cut face is light gray with a scattering of dark gray and white chondrules and metal and sulfide grains with rust halos are visible amid the gray background.

Petrography: (M. Hutson, A. Ruzicka, Cascadia): The thin section is substantially dark in plane-polarized light due to dispersed small metal, sulfide, and chromite grains. Chondrules and chondrule fragments can be discerned, but lack sharp boundaries with the surrounding material. Large (up to 1.5 mm across) metal grains observed in reflected light have scalloped edges and contain inclusions of small angular silicate grains. Coarse (up to 0.6 mm across) phosphate was observed.

Geochemistry: Olivine: Fa_24.8±0.2, N=17; Low-Ca pyroxene: Fs_21.1±0.2Wo_1.3±0.2, N=18.

Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L5) based on mineral chemistry and texture.

Specimens: Cascadia holds 44.9 g in two pieces, as well as a polished thin section.