LOT 0405

Seymchan Meteorite Cross-Section

CIRCA 4.5 BILLION YEARS B.P.

9 1/8 in. (356 grams, 23.2 cm).

A magnificent polished cross-section from the Seymchan pallasite meteorite, revealing the honeycomb-like structure characteristic of pallasites, with translucent olivine crystals embedded within iron-nickel crystals; accompanied by a custom-made display stand.

Discovered in 1967, recovered from the bed of the river Hekandue in the Magadan District, Russia (62° 54’ N, 152° 26’ E).

See Graham, A.L., Bevan, A.W.R. & Hutchison, R., Catalogue of Meteorites, London, 1985, p.323; report of geologist F. A. Mednikov (Magadan, USSR) in a letter, VIII 15, 1967 and of V. 1. Zvetkov (Moscow, USSR) in a letter X 17, 1967; see also Meteoritical Bulletin No.43, Moscow (1968) and database.

The main mass of 272.3 kilograms was found during a survey in June 1967 by geologist F. A. Mednikov. The mass was a triangular-shaped thumb-printed meteorite lying among the stones of the brook bed. A second specimen of 51 kilograms was found with a mine detector at a distance of 20 meters from the first in October 1967 by I. H. Markov. During a new expedition in 2004, Dmitri Kachalin recovered about 50 kilograms of new material. Remarkably, about 20% of the new specimens were found to contain olivine crystals, and so revealed the silicate nature of the meteorite. The pallasitic structure was not previously discovered during studies on small metal-only sections of the original mass. The distortion of the Widmanstatten patterns is interpreted as shearing of the superheated meteorite as it broke up in the Earth's atmosphere.