Meteorite | Lunar NWA 13788 | Achondrite | 36,4g

Product detailed description

Meteorites from the Moon are a rare type of meteorite belonging to the achondrite group, i.e. stone meteorites. Their specificity is that they do not contain chondrules (tiny grains of molten minerals) like regular stone meteorites. This is because they do not form from ""space dust"" but originate from celestial bodies such as the Moon, Mars, or various larger asteroids or planets that no longer exist. They reach Earth, as in this case, by the impact of another meteorite on the surface of the Moon, which, due to its low gravity, shoots chunks of rock back into space. Some of them then hit the Earth as meteorites. Such a constellation of circumstances is relatively rare, and lunar meteorites are therefore few and far between. The first such meteorite was only found in 1979 in Antarctica, and overall only about 0.08% of all meteorites found come from the Moon. No lunar meteorite has ever been found in the Czech Republic.

The composition of these meteorites is not typical of terrestrial rocks or other meteorites and is very easy to recognize. In addition, it matches the lunar pieces brought to Earth by the Apollo missions.

The NWA (abbreviation for Northwest Africa) 13788 meteorite was found in the Ouargla province of Algeria in 2020. The total mass of all the pieces found today is around 3 kg.

The specimen has a nice dark brown to black crust and a cross section would reveal light and dark parts in a dark matrix.

Weight: 36.4 g
Location of discovery: Ouargla, north-eastern Algeria
Interesting fact: One of only 0.08% of meteorites found to originate from the Moon.