Iron, fine octahedrite Kiruna, Sweden (67°48’ N, 23°6’ E)

Muonionalusta meteorites are found near the Muonio River in northern Sweden above the Arctic Circle. While meteorite hunters unearthed numerous masses in recent years, it was in 1906 that children discovered the first Muonionalusta while engaging in a favorite childhood pastime: kicking rocks—and in this instance an unexpectedly dense rock later verified to be a meteorite. Possessing what is among the highest terrestrial ages of any meteorite, Muonionalusta fell to Earth about one million years ago when the region was glaciated—and it has experienced four different ice ages since then. Despite their age, many specimens exhibit only minor interior weathering due both to the stability of the material as well as being preserved in the deep freeze of the Arctic. When sliced and etched and fashioned into slices, spheres and cubes, Muonionalusta showcases its internal crystalline resplendence. Also known as a Widmanstätten pattern, this intergrowth of two iron-nickel minerals, kamacite and taenite, forms an unearthly metallic grid in shimmering shades of gray and silver. It is also diagnostic in the identification of an iron meteorite. Muonionalusta is the first iron meteorite in which the mineral stishovite was discovered. Stishovite is a rare and extremely hard silicon dioxide polymorph of quartz in which tremendous pressure is essential for it to form: an asteroid impact at hypervelocity in the depths of interplanetary space is required.
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