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Northbranch H5 4.2g partslice with Fusion Crusted Edge
Click picture for a closeup view
Northbranch is an H5, found in 1972 at 39° 59' 30"N, 98° 20' 30"W [Jewell County Kansas]. This specimen was recognized as an official meteorite in 1997. A 76 kg stone was found in a grain field. Classification and mineralogy (A. Rubin, UCLA): olivine, Fa19.0; pyroxene Fs16.5; shock stage S4
When I first saw this specimen I thought the 'thread' of metal crossing its breadth was Nickel-Iron. But after conferring with others it was brought to my attention by Matt Morgan of Mile High Meteorites that it was more likely that this vein was instead a shock vein that had been filled after its fall to earth by oxidized iron become hematite. Evidence of this is the difference in color of the thread, or vein, from the flecks of nickel-iron that are dominant throughout the specimen.
He said, "On the specimens I have/had, the Fe-Ox "wind" or "snake" through the piece. I never saw one actual Fe-Ni vein in any piece of Northbranch. The Fe in the meteorite has oxidized to form hematite, so the hematite is not primary."
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