Lunar Meteorite: Dhofar 026 clan

from The Meteoritical Bulletin No. 84

Dhofar 026

Oman
Found: 2000 March 6
Mass: 148 g

Lunar meteorite (anorthositic crystalline melt breccia)

A brownish gray stone weighing 148 g was found in the Dhofar region of Oman.

Mineralogy and classification (M. Nazarov and M. Ivanova,Vernad): fusion crust absent; meteorite is a clast-poor, anorthositic, crystalline melt breccia containing rare mineral fragments and clasts of feldspathic rocks embedded in a completely devitrified fine-grained matrix; vesicles are abundant; sphere-shaped, chondrule-like inclusions and rare impact melt veins are present; feldspar, An_96-98; olivine (a dominant mafic phase), Fo_61-79(Fe/Mn = 80-120 at.); low-Ca pyroxene, En_53-63Wo_8-20(with 0.13-0.84 wt% TiO₂, Fe/Mn = 40-60 at.); high-Ca pyroxene, En_43-50Wo_27-33(with 1.1-3.5 wt% TiO₂, Fe/Mn = 40-50 at.); accessory minerals are silica, ilmenite (MgO = 7 wt%), troilite, and FeNi metal; a prominent positive Eu anomaly (Sm/Eu = 1.04) is present; terrestrial weathering is not significant. The meteorite is completely different in texture and composition from Dhofar 025, but pairing must still be considered due to the proximity of the finds to one another.*

Specimens:type specimen, 41 g plus two thin sections,Vernad; main mass with anonymous finder.

*Randy’s note: The find locations are separated by 20 km. On the basis of composition and cosmic-ray exposure histories, the meteorites are not paired.

from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 101

Dhofar 1669

Zufar, Oman
Found: 2010 Nov 19
Mass: 3.3 g

Lunar meteorite (feldspathic breccia)

History: Found by an anonymous prospector on November 19, 2010.

Physical characteristics: A single gray stone (3.3 g) without fusion crust.

Petrography: (A .Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS) Very fine grained breccia composed of abundant anorthite with olivine, pigeonite, subcalcic augite, Ti-rich chromite, troilite, kamacite and a Cr-Ni-Fe phase.

Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa_38.8-39.6, FeO/MnO = 106-109), pigeonite (Fs_28.8Wo_8.1, FeO/MnO = 50), subcalcic augite (Fs_17.4Wo_33.4, FeO/MnO = 50), plagioclase (An_96.0-97.2Or_0.1).

Classification: Lunar (feldspathic breccia).

Specimens: A total of 0.66 g of type material is on deposit at WUSL (0.53 g) and UWB (0.13 g). The main mass is held by an anonymous collector.

Randy Says…

Compositionally, the Dhofar 026 clan is a typical feldspathic lunar meteorite.

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

Dhofar 026| 457| 458| 459| 460| 461| 462| 463| 464| 465| 466| 467| 468| 1669

Map

Schematic Map of  Find Locations of  Lunar Meteorite from Oman

References

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Cohen B. A., Swindle T.D., Taylor L.A., and Nazarov M.A. (2002) ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar ages from impact melt clasts in lunar meteorites Dhofar 025 and Dhofar 026. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIII, abstract no. 1252.

Cohen B. A., James O. B., Taylor L. A., Nazarov M. A., and Barsukova L. D. (2004) Lunar highland meteorite Dhofar 026 and Apollo sample 15418: Two strongly shocked, partially melted, granulitic breccias. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 39, 1419-1447.

Demidova S. I., Nazarov M. A., Lorenz C. A., Kurat G., Brandstätter F., and Ntaflos Th. (2007) Chemical composition of lunar meteorites and the lunar crust. Petrology 15 (4), 386-407.

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All Korotev data on Omani lunar meteorites.

Korotev R. L. and Irving A. J. (2013) Keeping up with the lunar meteorites – 2013. 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, abstract no. 1216.

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