Lunar Meteorite: Dhofar 1428

Dhofar 1428 in the desert. Photo credit: Michael Farmer
A slice of Dhofar 1428. Click on image for enlargement photo credit: Michael Farmer
Another slice of Dhofar 1428. Photo credit: unknown
Lab sample of Dhofar 1428. Photo credit: Randy Korotev
from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 91

Dhofar 1428

Oman
Find: March 2006
Mass: 213 g (1 piece)

Achondrite (Lunar anorthositic breccia)

Physical characteristics: A 213 g dark gray stone with little remaining fusion crust found within the desert of the Dhofar regions of Oman.

Petrography: (T. Bunch and J. Wittke, NAU) Clast-rich impact melt breccia (mingled) that consists mostly of light to dark gray clasts of previously formed, plagioclase-rich breccias and white lithic and mineral clasts of anorthositic rocks and plagioclase. Minor amounts of norites, anorthositic gabbros, troctolites, and ophitic/subophitic basalts were also observed. Groundmass is composed of quench-textured silicate melt (plagioclase, pyroxenes, opaque minerals and glass) and isolated pockets of vesicular glassy melt.

Geochemistry: Anorthositic clast plagioclase (An93.8-98); Norite olivine (Fa36, FeO/MnO = 104), plagioclase (An96.4), orthopyroxene (Fs28.4Wo4.1, FeO/MnO = 51); Troctolite plagioclase (An95.5), olivine (Fa25.8, FeO/MnO = 89); Subophitic basalts that contain highly zoned pyroxenes (Fs14.9Wo5.1 to rims of Fs41.2Wo15.2).

Classification: Achondrite (Lunar anorthositic breccia); Components shock levels range from moderate to completely melted and the degree of interior weathering is very low.

Specimens: A 20.7 g type sample is on repository at NAU. Mr. R. Ward holds the main mass.

Randy Says…

Compositionally, Dhofar 1428 is a typical feldspathic lunar meteorite.

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

Dhofar 1428

Map

Schematic Map of  Find Locations of  Lunar Meteorite from Oman

References

Bunch T. E., Wittke J. H., and Korotev R. L. (2006) Petrology and composition of lunar feldspathic breccias NWA 2995, Dhofar 1180 and Dhofar 142869th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, abstract no. 5254.

Hidaka Y., Yamaguchi A., and Ebihara M. (2009) Geochemistry and petrology of lunar meteorite Dhofar 1428. 72nd Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, abstract no. 5329.

Hidaka Y., Yamaguchi A., and Ebihara M. (2010) Chemical compositions of lunar meteorite Dhofar 1428. 33rd Symposium on Antarctic Meteorites, 19-20.

Hidaka Y., Yamaguchi A., and Ebihara M. (2010). Trace element characteristics of a lunar meteorite Dhofar 1428. 73rd Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, abstract no. 5308.

Hidaka Y., Yamaguchi A., and Ebihara M. (2014) Lunar meteorite, Dhofar 1428: Feldspathic breccia containing KREEP and meteoritic componentsMeteoritics & Planetary Science 49, 921-928.

Korotev R. L. (2011) Lunar meteorites from Antarctica and Oman. 74th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, abstract no. 5073.

Korotev R. L. (2012) Lunar meteorites from OmanMeteoritics & Planetary Science 47, 1365-1402.

Korotev R. L. (2017) Update (2012–2017) on lunar meteorites from OmanMeteoritics & Planetary Science 52, 1251-1256.

All Korotev data on Omani lunar meteorites.

Korotev R. L. and Zeigler R. A. (2007) Keeping up with the lunar meteoritesLunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII, abstract no. 1340.

Liu Y., Zhang A., and Taylor L. A. (2009) Fragments of asteroids in lunar rocks. 72nd Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, abstract no. 5434.

Miura Y.N., Okazaki R. and Yamaguchi A. (2012) Noble gas isotopic compositions of lunar meteorite, Dho 1428. Fall meeting of The Japanese Society for Planetary Sciences, 2012. (in Japanese)

Xue Z., Xiao L., and Xu Y. (2017) Magnesian feldspathic crust and geochronology of evolved mare basalt in feldspathic lunar breccia meteorite Dhofar 1428Lunar and Planetary Science XLVIII, abstract no. 1952.

Xue Z., Xiao L., and Neal C. R. (2019) Xenocryst origin of pyroxene and plagioclase in enriched high-Ti basalt clast from lunar meteorite Dhofar 1428. 49th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, abstract no. 1393.

Xue Z., Xiao L., Neal C. R., and Xu. Y. (2019) Oldest high-Ti basalt and magnesian crustal materials in feldspathic lunar meteorite Dhofar 1428Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 266, 74-108.

Zhang A. C., Hsu W. B., Liu Y., and Taylor L. A. (2009) Petrography and mineralogy of Dhofar 1428 lunar highland regolith breccia. 72nd Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, abstract no. 5096.