Lunar Meteorite: Northwest Africa 13119

Endcut (1040 g; exterior and sawn face) of the largest stone of Northwest Africa 13119. Photo credit: Bonhams.
Exterior and interior of another NWA 13119 stone, 13 cm height. Photo credit: Heritage Auctions
A slice of NWA 13119, 19 cm wide. Photo credit: Heritage Auctions

from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 109

Northwest Africa 13119 (NWA 13119)

Mauritania
Purchased: 2019 August
Mass: 7 kg (3 pieces)

Classification: Lunar (feldspathic breccia)

History: Purchased from a Mauritanian meteorite dealer by Edwin Thompson and Phillip Todd in August of 2019.

Physical characteristics: Three pieces that fit together. No fusion crust. Saw cuts reveal a fragmental breccia with numerous angular shaped, cm-sized, white feldspathic clasts set in a predominantly light gray groundmass. There are also a few scattered brown-green lithic clasts present.

Petrography: (C. Agee, UNM) SEM images show fragmental breccia of differing grain-size scales. The groundmass is extremely fine-grained with cataclastic domains, and a variety of micro-basaltic lithologies and single-phase fragments of olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase. Ubiquitous shock melt veins and vesicles are present throughout.

Geochemistry: (C. Agee, UNM) Olivine Fa25.6±10.7, range Fa8.1-41.2, Fe/Mn=114±26, n=7; pigeonite Fs24.4±8.9Wo10.1±2.0, Fe/Mn=48±2, n=2; augite Fs16.8±1.0Wo31.7±10.1, Fe/Mn=58±8, n=3; plagioclase An95.4±0.8, n=4; shock melt (proxy for bulk composition) SiO2=45.0, TiO2=0.37, Al2O3=29.7, MgO=6.2, FeO=2.3, MnO=0.07, CaO=15.7, Na2O=0.45 (wt%).

Classification: Lunar, feldspathic breccia

Specimens: 28.7 g on deposit at UNM, Phillip Todd holds the main mass.

Randy Says…

I have not studied 13119. It may be another stone 0f the NWA 8046 clan.

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

NWA 13119

Lunar Meteorites
List – ABC123 Order
List – Al2O3 Order