Meteorite Jikharra 001 - Unique piece of asteroid Vesta
Discovered in 2022, the Jikharra 001 meteorite has attracted the attention of scientists and collectors alike, not only because of its impressive mass but also because of its rarity. This meteorite belongs to the category of HED achondrites, specifically it is a eucrite-melt breccia that comes from the asteroid Vesta. Vesta is one of the largest bodies in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and is known for its differentiated structure, which includes a core, mantle and crust.
With a mass of over 3 tonnes, Jikharra 001 is one of the largest rocky meteorites ever found on Earth. The meteorite is a rare example that allows scientists to better understand the geological history of the asteroid Vesta. Its complex structure, made up of large fragments of original rock, points to the intense impacts and high temperatures that Vesta experienced during its lifetime.
Jikharra 001 is a melt breccia, which means it contains large chunks of calcic plagioclase and pigeonite that are suspended in a re-crystallized melt. This melt is mostly composed of recrystallized pigeonite and fine-grained, mostly fibrous feldspar. Minerals such as titanochromite, ilmenite and FeS occur in minor amounts, but no metallic iron was detected in this sample.
This fascinating meteorite not only provides rare data on an asteroid body that we can see with our own eyes, but also shows how collisions and impacts can affect the geology of planetary bodies. Jikharra 001 is now one of the largest meteorites you can have in your collection. With this sample, scientists have gained important material for further research into the history of the solar system.