Dark meteorite with the original building blocks of our solar system. The NWA 4502 is a CV3 chondrite from Algeria. Read more.
Dark Meteorite
The NWA 4502 (official name) was found in Algeria in 2005. In total, about 100 kg of this meteorite landed on Earth. The meteorite is dark in colour and its surface is nicely polished by the desert sand of Algeria. The most striking thing about this meteorite are the large chondrules that are present.
Carbon containing meteorite
The NWA 4502 is a carbon containing chondrite in the class CV3. This means that the meteorite is a carbon containing stone meteorite with large and clearly visible chondrules up to a few millimetres that cover about 45% of the meteorite. The chondrules are surrounded by clotting edges.
Building blocks of our solar system
Chondrules are round grains that were first formed after the solar system cooled down. Everything in the solar system is made up of them. They are seen as the original building blocks or the primal material of the solar system. This meteorite still contains the building blocks of our solar system in their original form!