Rare Rumuruti meteorite! NWA 13683 comes from the regolith of an asteroid and contains sulphide chondrules from the time of the 'protoplanetary disk'. Read more.
The first Rumuruti meteorite
The NWA 13683 is a Rumuruti meteorite. This is a rare class of chondrites (stone meteorites) and contains virtually no iron/nickel. The name comes from the meteorite that landed near Rumuruti in Kenya in 1934. That was the first discovered meteorite in this class.
Regolith fragments
Apart from the fact that a Rumuruti meteorite is very rare, it's the origin that makes it so interesting. It seems that the Rumuruti comes from the regolith of an asteroid. This is the loose layer of dust and rock on top of solid, consolidated material. The probability of this material to be big enough to hit the earth as a meteorite is extremely small
What makes a Rumuruti meteorite special?
A Rumuruti meteorite is characterised by its unique sulphide chondrules. These are building blocks from the time of the 'protoplanetary disc'. This is the state of the solar system before the planets were formed. It is therefore not surprising that Rumuruti meteorites are very popular with both collectors and scientists.