At 255 grams, this is a broad slice of Howardite, an HED achondrite meteorite from asteroid Vesta, recovered in Northwest Africa (NWA). One wide face is cut and polished, opening up a busy, speckled interior.

That face is warm tan to olive-brown, set with rounded darker-brown patches of varying size, sharp grey-black grains and small white flecks. In places the paler material swirls in loose bands around the darker areas. One long side is a straight, cleanly cut edge; the other sides are irregular and rough, and a few small fissures run inward from the natural edge. Seen from the side, it is an even slab of consistent thickness, with a rim darker and more uneven than the polished face.

Details

• Type: polished meteorite slice
• Classification: Howardite, HED (Howardite-Eucrite-Diogenite) achondrite, from asteroid Vesta
• Found in: Northwest Africa (NWA)
• Weight: 255 g
• Size: 12 cm (L) x 7.7 cm (W, at the widest part) x 1.2 cm (H) / 4.7" (L) x 3" (W) x 0.5" (H)

The polished face catches the light well on a small easel or in a specimen drawer.