Submit a Picture

Where is My Picture?!

The Queue

Met Name

Met Type

Thin Sections

4.8 kg.   chondrite

TKW 4.8 kg. Fall not observed. Found October 2016 near Enafor Rig #40, Taghit, Bechar Province, Algeria.


Dr. Svend Buhl writes:

This remarkable stone meteorite was found by Sidi Hamada in the vicinity of Enafor Oil Rig # 40, in Béchar Province, Algeria, in October 2016.

The pentagon-shaped mass shows a convex breast side, and a rather flat trailing section. In cross section, the meteorite has an airfoil profile. The trailing surface is shaped by two planar fractures that show only minor traces of atmospheric ablation.

Fluted regmaglypts in radial array are framing the breast side like a crown of flame. Their apparent point of origin is located slightly outward the post-fall edge of the mass (a), where the meteorite has the least diameter. This, however, would indicate a flight orientation with the center of gravity trailing instead of leading – an orientation which is highly improbable and unlikely to result in aerodynamic stability.

Since surface texture and atmospheric sculpting of the mass are controlled by a stable and lasting orientation of the meteorite during its ablative flight, a flight orientation with the center of gravity in the lead has to be assumed. Thus, the regmaglypts and ablation furrows at the N-surface B-edge must be understood as directed rimwards towards "a", rather than conversely.

This is a well-preserved and exceptional example of a distinctly oriented stone meteorite in the multiple kg-range.

Copyright (c) text, 3D graphic work and photos: Dr. Svend Buhl, Hamburg