Northwest Africa 14414 (NWA 14414)

(Northwest Africa)

Purchased: 2020

Classification: HED achondrite (Howardite)

History: The meteorite was purchased from a dealer in Algeria.

Physical characteristics: More then 30 grayish fragments some of which partly covered with fusion crust.

Petrography: The meteorite is a polymict breccia composed of fine- and coarse-grained basaltic, gabbroic, and dark melt rock clasts up to 3 cm in size and mineral fragments (including blocky orthopyroxene crystals of diogenitic composition) set into a more fine-grained clastic and related matrix. Main minerals are up to 800 µm sized exsolved pyroxene, diogenetic orthopyroxene (about 20%), ferroan unexsolved low-Ca pyroxene, and calcic plagioclase. Minor phases include silica, chromite, ilmenite, and FeS. No metallic iron has been detected.

Geochemistry: low-Ca pyroxene: Fs_63.9±0.3Wo_1.9±0.2 (Fs_63.6-64.5Wo_1.6-2.2, n=10, FeO/MnO=29-32); augite exsolution lamellae: Fs_27.9±1.5Wo_43.4±0.3 (Fs_25.5-29.4Wo_43.0-44.1, n=11, FeO/MnO=29-37); diogenetic pyroxene: Fs_31.2±0.2Wo_3.6±0.5 (Fs_30.9-31.5Wo_3.0-4.4, n=10, FeO/MnO=28-33); ferroan unexsolved low-Ca-pyroxene: Fs_45.1±0.4Wo_1.7±0.1 (Fs_44.7-45.8Wo_1.6-1.8, n=7, FeO/MnO=32-35); calcic plagioclase: An_91.5±0.9 (An_90.3-93.0, n=12)