Gao-Guenie (meteorite)
The Gao-Guenie meteorite is a stone meteorite that fell on March 5, 1960 about 60 km north of the city of Léo ( Burkina Faso ).
The meteorite burst into numerous fragments when it entered the earth's atmosphere as a result of the frictional heat and the shock-like deceleration. The structure of the meteorite indicates that it burst in three phases. The fragments of the first fragmentation moved on at high speed, reheated, and burst again. This process was repeated again with the resulting fragments.
The meteorite comes from the asteroid belt and belongs to the class of iron-rich H5 chondrites . In addition to nickel-iron, it contains the minerals olivine and bronzite . H5 chondrites were exposed to temperatures of over 950 ° C during their formation. The structure of the minerals was changed, they recrystallized and formed larger crystals.
Chemical composition: 20% nickel - iron ; 78% silicates ; 1.5% water ; 0.2% carbon .