NWA 869 ~5g

Description

Born by fire, Northwest Africa 869 is a fascinating and affordable meteorite. It has an unusual classification, L 3-6, meaning it shows characteristics of different meteorite types within the same mass. NWA 869 is a breccia — a rock made up of fragments of other rocks that have been compressed or cemented together. The most likely explanation for the formation of this mosaic-like mixture of space material is the collision of asteroids, millions or billions of years ago, somewhere in the void between Mars and Jupiter. NWA 869 illustrates the monumental processes at work in the solar system.