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Lunar Meteorite: Sayh al Uhaymir* 300

Oman

* "slightly reddish plain" (Thanks for the translation, Ali.)


Sayh al Uhaymir 300 in the desert. (Photo courtesy of Rainer Bartoschewitz)


Chips of SaU 300. Tick marks are spaced at 1 mm. Sample courtesy of Rainer Bartoschewitz. Photo by Randy Korotev

Thin section of SaU 300. Maximum width: 17 mm. Sample courtesy of Rainer Bartoschewitz. Photo by Randy Korotev



It's one of the most mafic of the feldspathic lunar meteorites.

It's a crystalline impact-melt breccia.

It's compositionally and texturally very similar to NWA 4932, collected ~3400 km away. The two stones may have been blasted off the Moon by a common impact.
  


from The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 91, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 42, A413-A466 (2007)

Sayh al Uhaymir 300

Al Wusta, Oman
Find: 21 February 2004 

achondrite (lunar feldspathic regolith)

History and physical characteristics: One gray-green individual of 152.6 g without fusion crust was discovered by Th. and P. Kurtz of Bartoschewitz natural science expedition team on a gravel plateau about 42 km SSE of Al Ghaba Resthouse (Adam County).

Petrography: (R. Bartoschewitz, Bart; P. Appel and B. Mader, Kiel; W. Hsu, PMtOb) Polymict breccias (anorthosite, troctolitic anorthosite, noritic gabbro, and anorthositic gabbro), mineral fragments (anorthite, olivine, and pyroxenes), and glass veins are set in a fine-grained matrix of anorthositic olivine-gabbro composition. Accessoric minerals are kamacite, troilite, chromite, ulvöspinel, spinel, armalcolite, and ilmenite.

Mineral compositions and geochemistry: (R. Bartoschewitz, Bart; P. Appel and B. Mader, Kiel; U. Krähenbühl, Bern; R. Niedergesaess, R. Pepelnik, and U. Reus, GKSS) Olivine (Fa26.8±5.2; mg# = 16.2–41.0), pyroxene (Fs25.6±4.7Wo11.0±5.6; mg# = 57–82), plagioclase (An95.8±0.6), metal (Ni = 39–116, Co = 11–5 [both mg/g]). Bulk Al2O3 = 20.4 wt%; FeO + MgO = 16.7 wt%; Th = 0.46; Sm = 1.1 ppm. The bulk FeO/MnO = 70.8, while the ratio in olivine and pyroxene are 83 and 49, respectively. Noble gas isotopes: (J. Park and K. Nagao, UTokE; R. Okazaki, KyuU) No solar gases, and low concentration of radiogenic isotope 4He. Magnetic susceptibility: (R. Bartoschewitz, Bart) log chi = 3.54 × 10-9 m3/kg.

Classification: Achondrite (lunar feldspathic regolith breccia).

Type specimen: A total of 20 g of sample is on deposit at Kiel. Th. and P. Kurtz hold the main mass. R. Bartoschewitz holds 5.3 g and a thin section.

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

SaU 300

Lunar Meteorite Compendium

SaU 300

References

Bartoschewitz R., Park J., Nagao K., Okazaki R., Niedergesaess R., Pepelnik R., Reus U., and Kurtz Th. (2005) Lunar Meteotite SaU 300 – Noble Gas Isotopes (abstract). 68th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, number 5026.

Bartoschewitz R., Niedergesaess R., Pepelnik R., Reus U., Kraehenbuehl U., and Kurtz Th. (2005) Chemical Classification of "SaU 300" (abstract). 68th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, number 5024.

Bartoschewitz R., Appel P., Mader B., and Kurtz Th. (2005) Sayh Al Uhaymir 300 — A New Lunar Meteorite (abstract). 68th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, number 5023.

Bartoschewitz R., Park J., Nagao K., Okazaki R., and Kurtz Th. (2009) Lunar meteorite SaU 300 — Noble gas record (abstract). 72th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, number 5101.

Hsu W., Guan Y., Ushikubo T., Bartoschewitz R., Zhang A., Kurtz Th., and Kurtz P. (2006) Petrology and REE geochemistry of the lunar meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir 300 (abstract). 69th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, abstract no. 5200. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Hsu W., Zhang A., Guan Y., Ushikubo T., Bartoschewitz R. (2007) Sayh al Uhaymir 300: Petrology, mineralogy, and trace element geochemistry (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII, abstract no. 1149, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Hsu W., Zhang A., Bartoschewitz R., Guan Y., Ushikubo T., Krähenbühl U., Niedergesaess R., Pepelnik R., Reus U., Kurtz T., and Kurtz P. (2008) Petrography, mineralogy, and geochemistry of lunar meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir 300. Meteoritics and Planetary Science 43 1363–1381.

Hudgins J. A., Walton E. L., and Spray J. G. (2007) Mineralogy, petrology, and shock history of lunar meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir 300: A crystalline impact melt breccia (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII, abstract no. 1674, 38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston.

Hudgins J. A., Walton E. L., Spray J. G. (2007) Mineralogy, petrology, and shock history of lunar meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir 300: A crystalline impact-melt breccia. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 42, 1763–1779.

Korotev R. L., Bartoschewitz R., Kurtz Th., and Kurtz P. (2007) Sayh al Uhaymir 300 – The most mafic of the feldspathic lunar meteorites. Abstract no. 5006, 70th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society.

Korotev R. L., Irving A. J., and Bunch T. E. (2008) Keeping up with the lunar meteorites – 2008 (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIX, abstract no. 1209, 39th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston.

Korotev R. L, Zeigler R. A., Jolliff B. L., Irving A. J., and Bunch T. E. (2009) Compositional and lithological diversity among brecciated lunar meteorites of intermediate iron composition. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 44, 1287–1322.

Chemical Classification

Overview | SaU 300

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Prepared by:

Randy L. Korotev

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Washington University in St. Louis

Please don't contact me about the meteorite you think you’ve found until you read this and this.

e-mail: korotev@wustl.edu

Last revised: 23-Oct-2009