The Gibeon Meteorite
Natural space art from the asteroid belt
Large masses were reported to exist near the East bank of the Great Fish River to English Army Captain J.E. Alexander in 1838. The meteorite was known by the local natives for many years before this, who had worked the smaller specimens into arrowheads and assagai-heads. Many other large masses have been found since this first report. More then 54 tons of this meteorite is in museums or university collections. The main mass weighs 650 kilograms and is located at the South African Museum in Cape Town. Etched slices show lines in the metoerite called "widmanstatten" lines. These are the result of the acid reacting different to the high nickel taenite and low nickel kamacite crystals. Gibeon's main composition is iron (90%), nickel (8%) and cobalt (0.4%). Other minerals include kamacite, taenite, troilite, chromite, deabreelite, enstatite and tridymite. Radiometric dating places the age of crystallization of the metal of the Gibeon meteorite at around 4 billion years. |
Click images to enlarge:
1.45 KG measuring 4 inches by 3 inches by 2 1/2 inches.
4.6 KG measuring 7 inches by 5 inches by 5 inches. Stands up naturally as shown.
5.2 KG measuring 6 inches by 6 inches by 4 inches. Stands up naturally as shown.
7.2 KG measuring 8 inches by 6 1/2 inches by 4 inches. Stands up naturally as shown.
8.7 KG measuring 8 inches by 7 inches by 4 inches. Stands up naturally as shown.
9.5 KG measuring 8 inches by 6 inches by 4 inches. Stands up naturally as shown.
11 KG measuring 8 inches by 9 inches by 5 inches. Stands as shown in the first three photos.
15 KG measuring 12 inches by 8 inches by 4 inches.
31 KG measuring 14 inches by 7 inches by 7 inches.
113 KG measuring 17 inches by 14 inches by 10 inches.
4.1 kg Complete Slice measuring 16 3/4 inches by 8 1/2 inches. Glare is caused by lighting, not an uneven etch.
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