Lunar Meteorite: Shişr 162

Shişr 162 in the desert. Photo credit: anonymous finder
Shişr 162 in the lab. Photo credit: anonymous finder
A slice of Shişr 162. The color difference between this photo and the one above is a lighting effect. Photo credit: Randy Korotev
Images of a thick (100 µm, top) and thin (35 µm, bottom) section of Shişr 162. Width: 13 mm.  Photo credit: Randy Korotev

from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 99

Shişr 162

Zufar, Oman
Found: 17 Feb 2006
Mass: 5525 g (1 piece)

Lunar meteorite (feldspathic breccia)

History: One stone was discovered on a gravel plateau of Miocene limestone of Middle Fars group about 40 km NNE of Shişr.

Physical characteristics: Dark brown stone of 5525 g without fusion crust. Magnetic susceptibility log χ (×10-9 m3/kg) = 2.45.

Petrography: (R. Bartoschewitz, Bart.; P. Appel, B. Mader, Kiel) Breccia of dominantly anorthositic rocks and mineral fragments set in a fine-grained recrystallized matrix of anorthositic composition. Accessory minerals are Ni-rich iron, troilite, and chromite.

Geochemistry: (R. Bartoschewitz, Bart, P. Appel and B. Mader, Kiel) Fa17.8-26.4 (mg#(ol) = 73-81), FeO/MnO = 68.2; Fs16Wo15 (mg#(px) = 71-78); FeO/MnO = 50.4; An91.7-97.5; metal Ni 65-125 mg/g, Co 6-10 mg/g. Bulk composition (R. Korotev, WUSL): FeO 3.3 wt%, Sc 5.3 ppm, Sm 0.55 ppm, Th 0.16 ppm, Ni 180 ppm.

Classification: (R. Bartoschewitz, Bart.; R. Korotev, WUSL) Lunar feldspathic impact melt breccia

Specimens: A total of 20.0 g of sample is on deposit at Kiel. 10 g and 2 thin sections are on deposit at Bart, main mass anonymous finder.

Randy Says…

At 5.5 kg, it is big. Compositionally,  Shişr 12 is a typical feldspathic lunar meteorite. None of the 4 Shişr lunar meteorites is paired with another.

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

Shişr 162

Map

Schematic Map of  Find Locations of  Lunar Meteorite from Oman

References

Garcia S., Gross J., and Korotev R. L. (2015) Shisr 162: A glimpse into lunar lithologies. 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, abstract no. 2300.

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 Oman. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 47, 1365-1402.

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

All Korotev data on Omani lunar meteorites.

Korotev R. L., Irving A. J., and Bunch T. E. (2012) Keeping Up With the Lunar Meteorites – 2012. 43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, abstract no. 1152

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