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Nakhlite

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Nakhlite

Nakhlites are a group of Martian meteorites, named after the first one, Nakhla meteorite.

Nakhlites are igneous rocks that are rich in augite and were formed from basaltic magma about 1.3 billion years ago. They contain augite and olivine crystals. Their crystallization ages, compared to a crater count chronology of different regions on Mars, suggest the nakhlites formed on the large volcanic construct of either Tharsis, Elysium, or Syrtis Major Planum.

It has been shown that the nakhlites were suffused with liquid water around 620 million years ago and that they were ejected from Mars around 10.75 million years ago by an asteroid impact. They fell to Earth within the last 10,000 years.

Samples

The following samples of nakhlites are known.

  • Nakhla meteorite (about 40 samples, total estimated weight 10 kilograms (22 lb)), vicinity of Nakhla, Abu Hommos district, Alexandria Governorate, Egypt, 1911
  • Governador Valadares meteorite
  • Lafayette meteorite, 800g, before 1931
  • NWA817, 104g, Morocco, 2000
  • NWA998, 456g, Morocco, 2001
  • Y000593 (Yamato 593), 13.7 kilograms (30 lb)
  • Y000749, 1.28 kilograms (2.8 lb)
  • Y000802, 22g
  • MIL 03346 Miller Range, Antarctica
  • MIL 090030, MIL 090032, and MIL 090136, Miller Range, Antarctica
  • References

    Nakhlite Wikipedia