2457

Dar el Kahal Meteorite

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:600.00 - 800.00 USD
Dar el Kahal Meteorite

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Auction Date:2020 Jul 16 @ 18:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:15th Floor WeWork, Boston, Massachusetts, 02108, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Stone meteorite, chondrite H5–6 Gao, Mali, found 2013. Complete polished slice weighing 329 grams and measuring 228 mm x 132 mm x 4 mm. Dar el Kahal is a rarity among Northwest African meteorites in that it has a name rather than a number. Discovered in northern Mali in 2013 by an artifact hunter it has something in common with NWA 869 [SEE LOTS 2454 and 2455] in that it shows multiple classifications within a single rock: in this case H5 and H6. The “H” indicates high iron content, while the numbers represent “recrystallized type 6 and less intensely recrystallized type 5 fragments,” as noted in the Meteoritical Bulletin.

Dar el Kahal is rich in nickel-iron and is also a breccia—essentially a rock made up of fragments of other rocks. Brecciated meteorites are an important tool in studying the history and formation of our solar system. Breccias, by their very nature, indicate geological (or asteroidal) processes, as they are comprised of previously broken rocks from different sources that have been cemented together to create a new matrix. The formation of brecciated meteorites indicate activity—asteroidal collisions, for example—elsewhere in the solar system.

This elegant full slice was taken from the center of a large mass and has been well prepared to reveal an abundance of extraterrestrial nickel-iron flecks. The shiny metal points within the dark matrix are reminiscent of the night sky. Both faces have been highly polished and one has been coated with a non-invasive protectorant. The sealed side displays the metallic inclusions with more clarity, while the uncoated side shows off more discernible chondrules, giving the opportunity to appreciate two different facets of the same specimen. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Aerolite Meteorites.