Seymchan 1,025.8g

$9,225.00

  • Meteorite Type: Stony-Iron (IIE)
  • Weight: 1,025.8 grams
  • Approximate Measurements: 212 mm x 179 mm x 5 mm
  • Additional Information: An extremely rare offering of this fascinating meteorite. Absolutely spectacular Seymchan; which captures the pallasite to siderite transition! This amazing visual story is well complemented by its jagged etch pattern, patches of schreibersite, and is finished by an absolute lovely shape. A true must-have for the discriminating collector. 

1 in stock

Description

Seymchan is the meteorite that kept on getting more interesting as time went on. First discovered during the summer of 1967 by the Russian geologist F. A. Mednikov, it was originally classified as a IIE iron meteorite. In the early 2000s, meteorite hunters associated with the Vernadsky Institute in Moscow returned to the site in the hope of finding additional specimens. They did. And there were amazed to discover not iron meteorites, but pallasites — stony-iron meteorites encrusted with olivine crystals. Their finds resulted in a rare classification change in the scientific literature: in 2007 van Niekerk et al. revised the designation for Seymchan from iron to pallasite.

Seymchan has an unusual structure: some areas display olivine-rich clusters, while others consist almost entirely of nickel-iron. During its tumultuous flight through the atmosphere and subsequent impact, it is easy to imagine the meteoritic masses of Seymchan shearing at the nickel-iron/olivine borders. Some pieces, therefore, appear to be entirely metallic, while others appear pallasitic. This explains why Mednikov found what he assumed to be an entirely iron, or sideritic meteorite, while later expeditions found what they assumed to be pallasites.

This one kilo full slice is the best of both worlds. Revealing the pallasite to siderite transition! It is extremely well prepared. Etched with nitol on both sides to reveal its shimmering Widmanstätten Pattern. Small, luminous, richly-colored olivine (peridot) crystals are suspended in a shiny nickel-iron matrix.

The scarcity of meteorites makes diamonds and emeralds appear almost ordinary in comparison. An oft-quoted statistic posits that the weight of all meteorites ever found equal less than one year’s industrial output of gold. And while terrestrial gems and minerals frequently have great beauty and value, nothing can quite compare to the allure of holding an authentic piece of another world.

Please see the 360 degree video below.

Additional information

Weight 1025 g

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