Lunar Meteorite: Northwest Africa 15714

from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 112

Northwest Africa 15714 (NWA 15714)

(Northwestern Africa)
Purchased: 2022
Mass: 33 g (1 piece)

Lunar meteorite (feldspathic breccia)

History: Acquired in 2022 by Daniel Sheikh from a meteorite dealer in Algeria.

Physical Characteristics: Single stone with minor fusion crust.

Petrography: (D. Sheikh, Cascadia) Specimen is a breccia comprised of mm to cm-sized lithic clasts set within a fine-grained fragmental matrix containing isolated mineral clasts and accessory ilmenite, chromite, and troilite. Lithic clast lithologies are predominantly FAN in composition (e.g. anorthosites, noritic anorthosites, anorthositic norites) with minor Mg-suite input (e.g. troctolites, troctolitic anorthosites, and a zoned dunite clast containing a chromite-augite symplectite in olivine).

Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa_26.1±5.3, range Fa_15.3-34.2, Fe/Mn=92±13, n=56), Low-Ca Pyroxene (Fs_18.8±6.7Wo_3.0±0.6, range Fs_10.1-30.0Wo_2.1-4.1, Fe/Mn=51±6, n=9), Pigeonite (Fs_20.6±5.0Wo_13.0±4.6, range Fs_13.4-33.1Wo_6.4-21.9, Fe/Mn=47±8, n=20), High-Ca Pyroxene (Fs_9.4±7.6Wo_38.0±8.3, range Fs_4.9-18.2Wo_28.5-43.3, Fe/Mn=29±8, n=3), Calcic Plagioclase (An_95.7±2.4, range An_86.5-97.8, n=57).

Classification: Lunar (feldspathic fragmental breccia).

Specimens: 20.2 g at Cascadia, main mass with Cascadia.

Randy Says…

I have not studied Northwest Africa 15714.

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

NWA 15714