| Northwest Africa 17472 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Basic information | Name: Northwest Africa 17472 This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name. Abbreviation: NWA 17472 Observed fall: No Year found: 2024 Country: (Northwest Africa) Mass:  4 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification history: |
This is 1 of 342 approved meteorites (plus 2 unapproved names) classified as Martian (shergottite). [show all] Search for other: Martian meteorites | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Comments: | Approved 27 Mar 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writeup | Writeup from MB 114: Northwest Africa 17472 (NWA 17472) (Northwest Africa) Purchased: 2024 Classification: Martian meteorite (Shergottite) History: Purchased by Mark Lyon and Craig Zlimen from Choaib Bdirina. Physical characteristics: Two stones, 1.8 kg and 1.2 kg, found together, with weathered fusion crust. Freshly broken surface reveals gray pyroxene crystals and shiny maskelynite. Petrography: (C. Agee, UNM) Electron microprobe analysis and reflected light microscopy of a polished mount show this meteorite to be a basaltic shergottite. The two major phases in this meteorite are clinopyroxene and maskelynite. Ubiquitous minor phases are merrillite, titanomagnetite, ilmenite, and troilite. The clinopyroxene has a modal abundance of approximately 50%, with significant core to rim zoning indicating an igneous crystallization trend with Mg-rich pigeonite cores, mantled by augite, and rimmed with ferropigeonite. Clinopyroxene average grain sizes are approximately 300-500 μm. Maskelynite has modal abundances of approximately 40%, and most grains are thin and elongate with maximum length ~1 mm. Geochemistry: (M. Spilde, UNM) Clinopyroxene Fs40.8±18.9Wo22.3±10.5, Fe/Mn=34±4, n=10; plagioclase An55.8±5.1Ab43.4±4.8, n=8. Classification: Evolved basaltic shergottite, with pyroxene compositions similar to QUE 94201, NWA 12335, NWA 12522, NWA 12908, NWA 12960, NWA 15910, NWA 16127, Ben Kesbes 002, and Socorro. Specimens: 20.9 g on deposit at UNM; 1080 g, Bob Falls; Mark Lyon holds the main mass. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Data from: MB114 Table 0 Line 0: |
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| Institutions and collections | UNM: Institute of Meteoritics MSC03 2050 University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-1126 USA, United States; Website (institutional address; updated 2015-02-12) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| References: | Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 114, in preparation (2025)
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