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Northwest Africa 12450
Basic information Name: Northwest Africa 12450
     This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name.
Abbreviation: NWA 12450
Observed fall: No
Year found: 2018
Country: Western Sahara
Mass:help 14.2 g
Classification
  history:
Meteoritical Bulletin:  MB 108  (2020)  Martian (shergottite)
Recommended:  Martian (shergottite)    [explanation]

This is 1 of 298 approved meteorites (plus 2 unapproved names) classified as Martian (shergottite).   [show all]
Search for other: Martian meteorites
Comments: Approved 12 Apr 2019
Writeuphelp
Writeup from MB 108:

Northwest Africa 12450 (NWA 12450)

Western Sahara

Purchased: 2018 Jun

Classification: Martian meteorite (Shergottite)

History: Found in June 2018 near Zbayra, purchased by Mbark Arjdal and donated to the UWB collection.

Physical characteristics: A small (14.2 g) fresh, fusion-crusted ellipsoidal stone broken on one end. The interior exhibits greenish olivine phenocrysts set in a matrix of pale prismatic pyroxene and glassy maskelynite.

Petrography: (A. Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS) Porphyritic texture. Olivine phenocrysts (up to 2.5 mm across, exhibiting very limited core to rim zoning) are set in a finer grained groundmass composed mainly of twinned pigeonite (exhibiting very limited irregular zoning) and maskelynite with accessory chromite (both Ti-poor and more Ti-rich), ilmenite, merrillite and pyrrhotite. A thin, dark shock glass veinlet crosscuts the specimen.

Geochemistry: Olivine (core Fa27.0; rim Fa36.0; FeO/MnO = 47-49; N = 2), pigeonite (Fs24.1-32.9Wo7.2-12.9, FeO/MnO = 30-36, N = 6), maskelynite (An62.6-64.9Or0.4, N = 2).

Classification: Martian (shergottite, olivine-phyric)

Specimens: The entire specimen including one polished thin section is at UWB.

Data from:
  MB108
  Table 0
  Line 0:
Place of purchase:Morocco
Date:P 2018 Jun
Mass (g):14.2
Pieces:1
Class:Martian (shergottite)
Shock stage:high
Weathering grade:low
Fayalite (mol%):27.0-36.0
Ferrosilite (mol%):24.1-32.9
Wollastonite (mol%):7.2-12.9
Classifier:A. Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS
Type spec mass (g):14.2
Type spec location:UWB
Main mass:UWB
Comments:Work name Arj18-133; submitted by A. Irving
Institutions
   and collections		 UWS: University of Washington, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, 70 Johnson Hall, Seattle, WA 98195, United States (institutional address; updated 15 Jan 2012)
UWB: University of Washington, Box 353010 Seattle, WA 98195, United States (institutional address; updated 27 Jul 2012)
Catalogs:
References: Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 108 (2020) Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 55, 1146-1150
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Geography:

Western Sahara
Coordinates:Unknown.

Statistics:
     This is 1 of 270 approved meteorites from Western Sahara (plus 20 unapproved names)

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