The beautiful and mysterious Fukang meteorite

I was surprised that this hadn't been posted on ATS before. At least there were zero results when I tried using the search feature. A friend of mine shared this with me and I thought I would share it with all of you.

This is considered by some to be the greatest meteorite ever found. It is quite beautiful. I hope you enjoy.

THE WORLD’S GREATEST METEORITE

Source

When it slammed into the surface of Earth, there was little sign of the beauty that lay inside. But cutting the Fukang meteorite open yielded a breathtaking sight. Within the rock, translucent golden crystals of a mineral called olivine gleamed among a silvery honeycomb of nickel-iron.

The rare meteorite weighed about the same as a hatchback when it was discovered in 2000, in the Gobi Desert in China's Xinjiang Province. It has since been divided into slices which give the effect of stained glass when the sun shines through them. An anonymous collector holds the largest portion, which weighs 925lb. in 2008, this piece was expected to fetch $2million (£1.26million) at auction at Bonham's in New York - but it remained unsold.

wikipedia

Nice. Never heard of Olivine? Off to research..

Also, 925 pounds for only 2 million? Seems like a deal to me..

snf op


Google images

More info

reply to post by rbnhd76


Thanks, here's a link to the wikipedia entry on Olivine

en.wikipedia.org...

The mineral olivine (when of gem-quality, it is also called peridot and chrysolite), is a magnesium iron silicate with the formula (Mg,Fe)2SiO4. It is a common mineral in the Earth's subsurface but weathers quickly on the surface.

It is a pallasite meteorite, known for their beauty. They can be turned into exquisite jewelry. Thank you for sharing. Star and flag.

Thats one beautiful fooking meteorite.

reply to post by IpsissimusMagus


AMAZING - must be filled with a lot of air/space the way he's holding it.

Looks like something that could be very harmful to superman

thanks for sharing - Ned

I can't get enough of this FUKANG thing....

Excellent find.

I can’t believe they make jewelry out of this…

I want a Fukang bracelet or perhaps a Fukang ring or even a Fukang necklace would be swell…

Oh, and I sub teach all the time in school I am bookmarking this article so I can discuss this Fukang meteorite in science class. It will be awesome all the kids talking about the Fukang meteorite in the halls. It will drive the old biddy teachers insane.

reply to post by Golf66


Search jewelry + pallasite. It is expensive.

that's Fukang awesome!!

beautiful! pic entitled FukangA doesn't do it justice FukangB with the light shining through it! ..priceless

Yep Clark! Shes a real beaut !

I would love to witness all the school kids talking about the fukang meteorite, haha. I probably woulda gotten kicked outta my school for such a thing!

Google images search of this fukang beautiful rocketyrockrock

Nice find OP. I'm by no means an expert, but I beleive that the meteorite from Esquel is held to be the finest quality pallasite. The Fukang pallasites tend to be more unstable and prone to decay (rust) than the esquel pallasites. I know for sure that per gram Esquel Pallasites are more expensive than Fukang.

Either way, You can't help but be enchanted by the beauty of these things. I was blown away when I first stumbled across them. Very beautiful. Thanks for reminding me of their specialness.

Doesn't look like a Fukang Metorite... looks more like a work of art. I agree with the above post I would love some Fukang Metorite jewelry or something.

I would like to know how well this Fukang Metorite material conducts electricity and where on the periodic scale it falls.

Is there any parts of that Fukang thing where normal people are able to go check it out?

reply to post by Doalrite

Is there any parts of that Fukang thing where normal people are able to go check it out?

Yes, it's been cut up into pieces and sold.

Source

Arizona's Southwest Meteorite Laboratory, which holds about 70lb of the rock, says the remarkable find will turn out to be 'one of the greatest meteorite discoveries of the 21st century'.

It says the Fukang specimen outshines all other known examples of the pallasite class, which makes up just one per cent of all meteorites. However, it is not the biggest - in 2005 space rock hunter Steve Arnold dug up a 1,400lb sample in Kansas.

They are believed to originate from deep inside intact meteors created during the formation of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago and very few specimens are thought to have survived their descent through Earth's atmosphere.

February 2005 saw the Chinese space rock transported all the way to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, in Tucson, Arizona.

The U.S. lab claims their polished slice of the original meteorite is the world's biggest pallasite cross section, measuring 36in by 19in.

Here is some pallasite jewelry, I wonder if it came from this meteor. This would make a great necklace:

www.spacegems.org...

Originally posted by Kutas
Here is some pallasite jewelry, I wonder if it came from this meteor. This would make a great necklace:

www.spacegems.org...

From your link

The Esquel pallasite was found in Argentina in 1951 by cattle ranchers while they were digging a stock tank.

reply to post by IpsissimusMagus


wow thats beautiful!

reply to post by IpsissimusMagus

That is one gorgeous fukang Metorite...

I would love to have a meteorite like that. Just think, how many more amazing space rocks are there like that one floating around out there in space.