PALLASITE
Pallasites are widely regarded as the most beautiful meteorites in existence
(with the possible exception of bencubbinites). Pallasites are a type of
stony-iron meteorite. They contain mixtures of metallic iron-nickel
(silver-colored) plus an abundance of forsterite olivine (yellowish to
greenish), which is a ferromagnesian silicate mineral. Backlit pallasite
slices show that the olivine component is transparent. Pallasites appear
to represent samples from near the core-mantle boundary of a once-intact,
differentiated asteroid.
Pallasite - cut & polished slice of the Esquel Meteorite, found in 1951 in
Chubut, Argentina. FMNH Me 3194 (Field Museum of Natural History,
Chicago, Illinois, USA). (More info. on the
Esquel Meteorite)
Pallasite - cut & polished slice of the Esquel Meteorite, backlit to show
olivine transparency. Public display at meteorite museum at Odessa Impact
Crater, Texas, USA.
Pallasite - cut & polished slice of the Esquel Meteorite. Public
display at meteorite museum at Odessa Impact Crater, Texas, USA.
Pallasite (above & below; ~3.3 cm across) - cut & polished slice of the
Fukang Meteorite, back-illuminated to show forsterite olivine
transparency. The black areas are metallic iron-nickel (Fe-Ni).
Fukang is a spectacular pallasite found in the 2000s in the Gobi Desert of
northwestern China's Xinjiang Province.
(More info. on the
Fukang Meteorite)
Pallasite (~3.3 cm across) - cut & polished slice of the Fukang Meteorite
(same sample as above), tilted to show silvery color & luster of
iron-nickel metal. The dark areas are forsterite olivine.