Carbonaceous – CV3Chihuahua, Mexico (26°58' N, 105°19' W)

Details

ALLENDE — A RESEARCH SECTION OF SOME OF THE OLDEST MATTER KNOWN

Carbonaceous – CV3
Chihuahua, Mexico (26°58' N, 105°19' W)
This thick rectangular block of Allende features patches of fusion crust along a broad rim. Chondrules and CAI’s — the oldest matter mankind can touch — are richly evident in the sample’s dark gray matrix. Modern cutting.
60 x 27 x 42mm (2 1/3 x 1 x 1 2/3in.)
230g

Provenance

Collection of Dr. Elbert King (An architect and first curator of NASA’s Apollo Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Dr. King was responsible for curating the moon rocks returned by Apollo astronauts.)

Literature

Clayton, R., Onuma, N., Grossman, L. & Mayeda, T. (1977), “Distribution of the pre-solar component in Allende and other carbonaceous chondrites.” Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 34(2), 209-224.

Lewis, R., Srinivasan, B., & Anders, E. (1975), “Host phase of a strange xenon component in Allende.” Science, 190(4221), 1251-1262.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Lot Essay

Allende is the most studied meteorite in the world. Hundreds of scientific papers have been written about the meteorite and its components. The sample now offered contains (as do lots 37 and 48) tiny pre-solar grains that formed in the gaseous envelopes around dying stars long before the formation of our solar system 4.56 billion years ago. Also present in Allende are prominent white clasts, known as calcium-aluminum inclusions (CAIs), that are among the oldest materials in the solar system and the oldest matter mankind can touch. Allende fell to Earth on February 8, 1969 at 1:05 AM near Chihuahua, Mexico. Several new minerals have been discovered in Allende including a titanium oxide named panguite after the ancient Chinese god Pan Gu, the creator of the world who separated yin from yang, the earth from the sky.

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