Retuerta del Bullaque (meteorite)

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Retuerta del Bullaque (meteorite) (Spain)
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Position of the place of discovery in Spain

Retuerta del Bullaque is the official name of an iron meteorite that was found in 1980 about 1.5 kilometers from the town of the same name in the Spanish province of Ciudad Real , near the northern border of the Cabañeros National Park . It is a meteorite from the main group of complex iron meteorites (classification IAB-MG ). The meteorite is 45 × 31 × 20 centimeters in size and has a mass of around 100 kilograms (originally in one piece). The main part has a mass of 98 kilograms. In addition, there is a sample of 1278 grams, two fragments of 388 and 50 grams and three polished pieces, which are at the Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME).

history

The meteorite fell in prehistoric times ( middle to upper Pleistocene ), probably before the formation of today's water network . It escaped recycling as meteor iron because it was hidden in the ground until it came to the surface through field work.

It was found in 1980 by Faustino Asensio López on an agricultural area. Asensio López did not find a crater, but did notice the unusual density. The family originally thought the meteorite was military junk. She picked him up, and after lying on the family farm for over fifteen years, where he was used for various domestic purposes, he was used to press ham for years. A television report about a meteor over Spain on February 28, 2011 gave Asensio López the idea that the stone could be of extraterrestrial origin. During the year he contacted Juan Carlos Gutiérrez-Marco of the Instituto de Geociencias del CSIC (IGEO) and Rafael P. Lozano y Jesús Reyes (IGME). The first analyzes by the IGEO, the external shape and the high density confirmed the find as an iron meteorite. The official confirmation took place on January 1, 2013. The main weight of 98 kilograms is still in the possession of the finder and his brothers.

The specimen and a replica of the meteorite have been exhibited in the Museo Geominero in Madrid since March 27, 2013 .

properties

shape

The size is 45 × 31 × 20 cm, the mass around 100 kg. It is irregular, somewhat rectangular in shape, with numerous concave depressions and moderate weathering traces of earthly origin on the original surface.

Chemical composition

According to Lozano y Jesús Reyes from IGME, the meteorite contains 7.527% by weight nickel, 0.475% by weight cobalt (ICP-AES data), 365 ppm germanium, 68.9 ppm gallium, 13.7 ppm arsenic, 1.95 ppm iridium , 1.695 ppm gold and 0.95 ppm tungsten.

Petrography

The petrographic properties were determined by Lozano y Jesús Reyes and Gutiérrez-Marco. On two etched samples measuring 77.7 and 41.1 cm 2 , Widmanstätten structures with a lamella width of 2.0 ± 0.3 mm as well as plenty of Cohenite lamellae (9.5% of the total area) were found. The Widmanstätten structures are irregularly delimited by Schreibersit and are encased in Kamacit . Taenit can also be found in lamellae 0.02-0.3 mm wide. These lie along Kamecit and between Kamecit bands of 0.3–4 mm maximum width (pearlitic plessite ). There are also numerous kamacite grains that form polygonal areas with clear Neumann lines without cohenite.

The larger pieces show eight graphite - FeS -Knötchen with a maximum size of 5-12 mm, which are irregular in shape and of polygonal Kamacite-ranges in the central region. All nodules have a margin of 1–3 mm wide made from writersite and cohenite.

classification

Lozano y Jesús Reyes identified the meteorite as an iron meteorite of the coarse octahedrite type , class IAB complex (MG), rich in cohenite with moderate signs of weathering.

meaning

Retuerta del Bullaque is the fourth iron meteorite found in Spain, after Quesa (Valencia, 1898), Colomera (Granada, 1912) and Zaragoza (Saragossa, after 1950). It is the third confirmed meteorite in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha and the 29th in Spain. It is the 84th confirmed meteorite of the IAB-MG class worldwide.

Web links

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Aníbal de la Belle: Una familia manchega guarda un meteorito en su casa durante más de 30 años . March 27, 2013 (accessed April 11, 2013) (Spanish); on eldiario.es
  2. ↑ Un nuevo meteorito español - Retuerta del Bullaque (Ciudad Real), un nuevo meteorito español en el Museo Geominero (IGME) (accessed April 10, 2013) (Spanish)
  3. ↑ The articles on eldiario.es and the IGME list the meteorite as “La Almunia”. The official name according to the entry with the Meteoritical Society is “Zaragoza”.

Coordinates: 39 ° 27 '32 "  N , 4 ° 22' 39"  W.