Vesta, the second largest asteroid in our solar system, is the only asteroid which can be seen with the naked eye. Covered in basalt (volcanic rock), it’s a differentiated asteroid or protoplanet (it has a crust, mantle and core). In early solar system history there were numerous protoplanets, and all except Vesta experienced catastrophic fragmentation; the asteroid belt is filled with the majority of their remains.

Jikharra 001 is a melt breccia composed of large clasts of calcic plagioclase and pigeonite suspended in recrystallized shock melt. It was billions of years ago a massive impact near Vesta’s south pole sent an immense amount of Vesta into interplanetary space, a bit of which entered an Earth-crossing orbit in a journey lasting millions of years. Eucrites are named for the Greek eukritos meaning easily distinguished and indeed they are. Sufficiently so that reams of data transmitted from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft (which orbited Vesta in 2011 and 2012) supported the conclusion that the surface and upper crust of Vesta are the source of eucritic meteorites, making eucrites among the few meteorite types with a return address.

The outer surface of this specimen has a patina ranging in hues from milk-chocolate to cinnamon. A cut and polished softly triangular window at its apex provides a view into the matrix and is an aesthetic counterpoint to its form. This is an exemplary meteorite from the only asteroid that can be seen with the naked eye.

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.
169 x 171 x 102mm (6.66 x 6.75 x 4 in.) and 4.92 kilograms (10.75 lbs)

Stifler Collection of Meteorites, Brookline, MA