NWA 791 was first recovered out of the Moroccan Sahara in early 2001. It is one the earliest meteorites classified out of the NWA dense collection area. It was classified as an L5 chondrite. Early NWA meteorites were the subject of intense scientific study and NWA 791 has the distinction of being used by NASA's Ames Vertical Gun research team. Scientists fired a high speed projectile at a NWA 791 sample and then used aerogel to capture the resulting particles. These studies were used to better understand the conditions of shock and high speed collisions on asteroid-like materials.
NWA 791 is somewhat rare on the market now because most of the available material was absorbed into collections long ago. It is a classic L5 chondrite type that shows some brecciation, chondrules, and lots of fresh metal flecks in larger samples.
Refer to the photo. The black centimeter cube is shown for scale and is not included. You are purchasing a small fragment selected from the lot shown. Your purchase will include a labeled gemjar for safe storage.
From the Meteoritical Bulletin entry on NWA 791 :
Northwest Africa 791 (NWA 791)
(Northwest Africa)
Purchased: 2001 Mar
Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L5)
History: Purchased by Michael Farmer in March 2001 from a dealer in Casablanca, Morocco.
Petrography: (A. Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS) Sparse chondrules occur in a recrystallized matrix containing stained metal.
Geochemistry: Olivine (Fa25.5-25.8, N = 3), orthopyroxene (Fs20.5-20.7Wo1.4-1.6, N = 3), clinopyroxene (Fs7.4-8.3Wo44.9-44.3, N = 2).
Classification: Ordinary chondrite (L6).
Specimens: 146.7 g including one polished thin section at PSF; 226 g at UCLA; remainder is held by MFarmer.
