New Mars Meteorite Found In Morocco (NWA 1950)

New Mars Meteorite Found In Morocco (NWA 1950)

Below an excerpt from Meteoritical Bulletin 88-2 that announces the
discovery of a new Mars meteorite found in Morocco, NWA 1950.
This increases the number of Mars meteorites to 29.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/snc

Ron Baalke

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THE METEORITICAL BULLETIN
Announcement 88-2, October 23, 2003

Sara Russell, Editor )
Jutta Zipfel, Assoc. Ed. for Northwest Africa
)
Luigi Folco, Assoc. Ed. for Africa )
Monica Grady, Assoc. Ed. for Oman )
Rhian Jones, Assoc. Ed. for the Americas )
Tim McCoy, Assoc. Ed. for Antarctica )
Jeffrey N. Grossman, Assoc. Ed. for Web )

This is the second electronic announcement of new meteorites to be
published in Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 88, 2004 July.

Martian meteorite:

Northwest Africa 1950 Shergottite (Morocco) [see below]

The preliminary text of the 2004 Meteoritical Bulletin, including all
of the above meteorites, may by viewed at:

http://www.meteoriticalsociety.org/bulletin/mb88.pdf

All information in this announcement and on the above-cited Meteoritical
Bulletin webpage is subject to revision until final publication in
the summer of 2004.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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[snip]

Northwest Africa 1950
Morocco
Found 2001 January and March
Martian meteorite (lherzolitic shergottite)
Two stones (414 and 383 g) were found in the Atlas mountains
(Morocco) in 2001 January and March. The exact location of find is
unknown. The meteorite is a cumulate peridotitic rock consisting of
olivine (~ 55 vol%), low and high-Ca pyroxenes (~ 35 vol%) and
plagioclase glass (~ 8 vol%). Accessory minerals include phosphates
(merrillite), chromite and spinels (inclusions in olivines and
pyroxenes), sulfides (pyrrhotite), and a glass rich in potassium.The
igneous texture is very similar to that of the ALHA77005.
Classification and mineralogy (Ph. Gillet, ENSL, J.A. Barrat, UAng,
M. Bohn, Ifremer): pyroxenes are pigeonite, En78Fs19Wo2-En60Fs26Wo14,
and augite, En53Fs16Wo31-En45Fs14Wo41; maskelynite ranges from
An57Ab41Or1 to An40Ab57Or3. The key element weight-ratios FeO*/MnO is
close to 30 for pigeonite and close to 50 for olivines. Geochemistry:
REE pattern similar to that of ALHA77005 but with higher values.
Specimens: type specimen, 20 g, ENSL; main mass, Fectay.

[snip]