COMPLETE SLICE OF A METEORITE WITH NANODIAMONDS (DHOFAR 1989),

COMPLETE SLICE OF A METEORITE WITH NANODIAMONDS (DHOFAR 1989)
DISCOVERED IN OMAN, 2010; MODERN CUTTING
Dhofar 1989 is a textbook example of an exotic ureilite. Softly triangular, this complete slice is wrapped in fusion crust and displays a classic cumulate texture, the result of the settling of olivine and orthopyroxene grains to the base of a magma chamber on an asteroid. The dark patches seen are flakes of graphite, a crystalline form of carbon, which are abundant in Dhofar 1989. Nanodiamonds are another form of carbon, and they are also present in this specimen. This slice will be one of the only four specimens of Dhofar 1989 available to the public
4 x 3in. (9.9 x 7.5 x 0.3cm.)
57.5g

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Lot Essay

Dhofar 1989 — Complete Slice of a Meteorite with Nanodiamonds

Dhofar 1989, is the 1989th meteorite to be catalogued from the Dhofar desert region of Oman, near the border with Yemen. It is a member of the enigmatic ureilite group. The composition of ureilites is unlike that of any other stony meteorite. The origin of ureilites is unknown, its parent body yet to be discovered. Ureilites are achondrites (i.e., meteorites without chondrules) that typically contain graphite and nanodiamonds—whose presence hints at a history of violent impact events. Ureilites have a cumulate texture, which is to say they are igneous rocks that form from the accumulation of crystals that precipitate out of magma (a mixture of molten rock and mineral grains). As a result of the presence of diamonds, many ureilites are notoriously difficult to cut.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue note.