Chondrite – H6; The Sahara Desert, Morocco

A visually impactful slice from one specimen of a large (26 kilogram) stone meteorite found in the Sahara. A galaxy of nickel-iron grains is suspended in the dark matrix. The perimeter is edged in the fusion crust that resulted from the meteorite's blazing descent through Earth’s atmosphere.

Following the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society, NWA 5974 is the 5,974th rock recovered in the Northwest African grid of the Sahara Desert to be analyzed and classified. Michael Farmer states of this meteorite: “It is one of my favorite common chondrites. Flawless, no fractures. Little weathering. Extremely high metal. Mesmerizing to look at, imagining that the metal flecks are millions of stars set in a dark background of space."

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue.
260 mm x 155 mm x 5 mm (10¹⁄₄ x 6¹⁄₈ x ¹⁄₄ in.)
542g.

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