Stone meteorite, chondrite, L3. Witnessed fall, Oyo, Nigeria, April 19, 2018. Laboratory-prepared cut. Weighing 256.0 grams and measuring 141 mm x 88 mm 11 mm. Exceptional full slice of this rare witnessed fall. Note the extremely large spherical white chondrule on the polished face (see detail photo). The exterior shows fusion crust and a few blebs of extraterrestrial nickel-iron.
Aba Panu is a witnessed fall that occurred on April 19, 2018, when numerous stones landed between the Nigerian villages of Ipapo and Tede. An astonishing entry velocity of almost 13 miles per second was recorded for the incoming mass. That is around 45,000 miles per hour!
Aba Panu is an L3 chondrite, meaning it is a stone meteorite comparatively low in metal (nickel-iron) while its chondrules are as close to pristine as we can expect to see. L3 meteorites are particularly interesting to researchers and collectors alike, as they underwent a very low degree of alteration on the parent bodies. Their 4.67-billion-year-old chondrules give us perhaps our best look back at the earliest moments of our own solar system. Aba Panu is delightfully rich in them: white, grey, and cream- colored chondrules and chondrule fragments, varying greatly in size from about 0.1 to several mm across. Densely packed together, their abundance is marvelous, in fact, the meteorite seems to be made up almost entirely of these tiny, ancient intriguing spheres. Also visible are a few nickel-iron flecks and occasional armored chondrules. Combine that with the fact that in all of meteorite history there have only been seven L3 witnessed falls (none of the other six are readily available to collectors) and you have a highly desirable and rarely-offered space rock collectible.
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