Elsinora meteorite, Delalah Co., New South Wales, Australia

Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):	29° 26' 59'' South , 143° 36' 0'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):	-29.45000,143.60000
Non-native locality type:	Meteorite
Meteorite Class:	H5 chondrite meteorite
Meteoritical Society Class:	H5
Metbull:	View entry in Meteoritical Bulletin Database
Köppen climate type:	BSh : Hot semi-arid (steppe) climate

Ordinary chondrite, (H5)
Find, 1922; 1797 g

A stone [roughly 15x30 cm in dimensions] was found, but only 2 fragments have been preserved. Inspections reveal indistinct chondrules and chondrule fragments within a largely equilibrated matrix interrupted by irregular, compositionally exotic chondrules and shock veins [now weathered]. Compositionally, equilibrated olivine (Fa17) and low Ca-(orthopyroxene (Fs17.5) are characteristic of the H-chondrite geochemical group. One unusual 5mm unequilibrated olivine-rich chondrule (Fa6-19) is also reported. Mineralogically the meteorite consists primarily of dominant olivine and lesser orthopyroxene accompanied by minor Fe-Ni metal (kamacite and taenite), plagioclase, and troilite. Accessory chromite and minor amounts of copper, ilmenite, isocubanite are also found. Hydrous iron oxides, including goethite in cracks and limonite stains between metal grains, are indicative of significant weathering.

A U-He age of ~2.86 Ga is reported, possibly indicative of a major collision involving an intermediate parent body (IPB) subsequent to the original formation of a putative H-chondrite parent body. A cosmic ray exposure (CRE) age of t ~7.2 Ma has also been reported and suggests that Elsinora is itself a fragment of one or two subsequent IPB collisions producing a large fraction of the current stream of H5 chondrites. (The majority of H5 chondrites have CRE ages in the 6-10 Ma range.)

The main mass (1028 g) has been at the Australian Museum in Sydney [in 2017].

Mineral List

9 valid minerals.

Meteorite/Rock Types Recorded

References

External Links