The Suizhou meteorite shower occurred on April 15, 1986 in Dayanpo, Suizhou Prefecture, Hubei Province at 6:50pm, a witnessed fall. Suizhou is most widely known for containing a mineral never before seen in nature. Found in the thin veins of shock melt which run through Suizhou— the result of a cataclysmic collision in outer space— is Tuite, a new polymorph of the mineral Whitlockite. Its creamy matrix vividly contrasts with broad surfaces of black fusion crust – the result of its fiery plunge through Earth’s atmosphere.
Classification: L6 – An ordinary chondrite from the L (Low Iron) group that is petrologic type 6 (Designates chondrites that have been metamorphosed under conditions sufficient to homogenize all mineral compositions, convert all low-Ca pyroxene to orthopyroxene, coarsen secondary phases such as feldspar to sizes ≥50 µm, and obliterate many chondrule outlines).
It measures 4 x 3.5 x 1.75 inches (98 x 87 x 43 mm) and weighs 0.75 pounds (353.57 grams).
Leave a Reply