45. RARE OFFERING OF HVITTIS — A COMPLETE SLICE OF A HISTORIC ENSTATITE
EL6
Huittenen, Finland (61° 10' 60'' N, 22° 40' 60'' E)
Fell October 21, 1901 / TKW: 14 kg
On Monday, October 21st 1901 a giant boom was heard in southwestern Finland just north of Turku. A rumbling most often associated with a thunderstorm followed and a short time later a fieldworker heard an inexplicable whizzing sound as his back was turned to the impact which occurred 100 meters from where he stood. Three days later a deep fresh hole was noticed and a rounded black rock was found at the bottom.
Enstatite chondrites contain a high concentration of the magnesium-silicate mineral enstatite. Among the most oxygen-poor silicate rocks known, enstatite chondrites did not form in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter but near the center of the solar nebula, possibly even within Mercury’s orbit. As a result of their oxygen depletion, most of their iron takes the form of free metal or sulfide rather than silicate and oxide. When the reverse side of this specimen is rubbed, the pungent aroma of sulfur is still discernable. Delimited by a rim of fusion crust — and complete slices of Hvittis are virtually unheard of — this is a rare offering of a historic meteorite.
159 x 113 x 4mm (6.25 x 4.5 x 0.1 in.) and 200.8 g (0.5 lbs)
Provenance:
Finnish Geological Museum, Helsinki
Macovich Collection, New York City
Estimate $20,000 – 30,000 * Reserve $15,000