Carbonaceous chondrite - Tarda - 0.056 grams

Structural classification of the meteorite: carbonaceous chondrite C2

Impact location: Tarda, Morocco, Africa

Date of fall: 25.8.2020

Date of discovery: 27-28.8.2020

The weight of the meteorite is 0.056 grams.

The meteorite is stored in a plastic box with a white backing and a description.

!!! You are buying exactly the piece that is shown in the photo !!!

History: (H. Chennaoui Aoudjehane, FSAC, ATTARIK Foundation: A. Aaronson) On Tuesday, August 25, 2020 at around 14:30 Moroccan time (GMT+1), the fireball was widely observed by people in southern Morocco from Alnif, Zagora, Tazarin and Rich. The trajectory of the fireball was from SW to NE. Locals and meteorite hunters immediately launched a search between the towns of Goulmima and Errachidia. Hundreds of people began searching the same day and the first piece was found the following day by Alalou Youssef near his village of Tarda. The national road connecting Ouarzazate to Errachidia passes through the site of the crash and because of its easy accessibility, thousands of people soon headed to the area. National television channels Al Oula and 2M recorded the activity. A field mission to the site of the crash was organized on 27 and 28 August 2020, with the participation of Dr. Mohamed Aoudjehane, Prof. Faouziya Haissen and Prof. Hasnaa Chennaoui (members of the Board of Directors of the ATTARIK Foundation), with the support of Prof. Hicham Si Mhamdi (Faculty of Science, Errachidia), Adam Aaronson and members of the Moroccan Meteorite Association (Ahmed Bouferra, Mohamed and Zaid El Guireh). Several eyewitnesses from areas up to 150 km away were interviewed and reported three " bright yellow fireballs the size of a barrel with green edges. The meteor was followed by a thick trail of white smoke that remained suspended for several seconds. The fireball reportedly released small pieces along its edges, and witnesses said the fireball was accompanied by a whistle followed by several detonations. One eyewitness reported a near vertical trajectory. Thousands of small, mostly complete stones ranging in weight from just a few milligrams to 99 grams were collected. Many of the pieces were recovered by hunters using magnets. The scatter field is about 3 km long and is located ~10 km east of Tardy centered at 31.8265°N, 4.6794°W.

Physical Characteristics: Hundreds of small to medium sized stones with alloy crusts weighing from 0.1 g to 99 g. Most of the alloy-crusted stones weigh < 1 g. Some flight-oriented stones show a blue iris on their trailing edge, similar to that observed at Aguas Zarcas. Many of the stones shattered on impact with the ground. The stones are of low density, somewhat friable and are particularly susceptible to moisture and fall off rapidly on contact with water or alcohol. Freshly collected stones are said to have an odour similar to charcoal. Small fragments crushed in water give off a strong tar-like odour. The interior of the stones is dull black with scattered white or light-coloured grains or clasts (up to ~1 mm in size).

Petrography:(A. Irving, UWS; P. Carpenter, WUSL; L. Garvie, ASU; D. Sheikh, FSU) Optical and electron microprobe observations of three fragments in polished thin sections indicate a matrix-rich breccia containing small chondrules (granular, BO) and chondrule fragments, very fine-grained AOA, forsterite grains (showing slight undulose extinction), and other clasts embedded in a predominantly fine-grained matrix (~80 vol. %, opaque on thin section). Chondrule size measured on two thin sections: 310±150 µm, n=10; 450±200 µm, n=5. No CAIs were identified. The dominant chondrule phase is forsterite (but spinel is present in two examples) and some are coated with forsterite dust or show partial replacement by Fe-Mn-dolomite, siderite or phyllosilicate material. A single clast of igneous achondrite with a subophitic texture was observed, which is composed predominantly (~75 vol%) of lamellae of birefringent anorthite with subordinate forsterite, enstatite and minor diopside. Electron microprobe thin-sectioning and powder X-ray diffraction studies of several ~20 mg fragments show that the matrix is dominated by phyllosilicates, with lesser amounts of magnetite, pyrrhotite, pentlandite, troilite, carbonates (Fe-Mn-dolomite, siderite and Mg-rich siderite) and olivine. The phyllosilicates show broad basal reflections at 14.7 A and 7.4 A, corresponding to smectite and serpentine and interstratified serpentine/smectite, respectively. No reflections for sulfates were recognized. Magnetite (