Chassigny
Collection:
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Fact sheet

Chassigny

The Chassigny meteorite fell to Earth in a fireball on October 3rd 1815. Detonations were heard near the village of Chassigny in the province of Haute-Marne, France (Dijon is the nearest city). It is one of the first meteorites to be recognised as a genuine rock from space and to date the only Martian meteorite that has been found in Europe. Only one 4 kg stone was found despite an extensive search.

The meteorite is a dunite mainly consisting of olivine (92%). Minor minerals in the Chassigny meteorite are pyroxene, plagioclase feldspar and chromite. Accessory species include alkali feldspar, biotite, kaersutite, chlorapatite, marcasite, pentlandite, troilite, ilmenite, rutile, baddeleyite and wadsleyite. Melt inclusions are also present.

Isotopic techniques have produced a range of ages for the sample - 1.39±0.17 Ga (K-Ar), 1.2-1.4 Ga (Ar-Ar), 1.362±0.062 Ga (Sm-Nd) and 1.126±0.012 Ga (Rb-Sr). It was ejected from the surface of Mars ~ 11 million years ago.

Because it has a different noble gas assemblage to that of the Martian atmosphere, these compositions are thought to be a mantle signature.

This description is based on the work of NASA scientist Charles Meyer - compiler of The Mars Meteorite Compendium.

Map
47.7125, 5.3797
Description:
Haute Marne, France
Precision:
Good
About this collection

This collection of meteorites includes Shergottites, Nakhlites and Chassignites (or SNC meteorites) which originate from the surface of the planet Mars.

They carry unique signals of the surface of the planet that allows scientists to study the composition and age of Martian rocks. The collection includes a sample of the famous ALH84001 meteorite, evidence from which was used in 1996 to begin the debate of 'life on Mars?'. 

 

Sample details

Collection: Martian Meteorites
Type
meteorite
Category
chassignite achondrite
Rock-forming mineral
olivine
Accessory minerals
pyroxene
alkali feldspar
plagioclase
feldspar
biotite
kaersutite
chlorapatite
marcasite
pentlandite
troilite
ilmenite
rutile
baddeleyite
wadsleyite
Category guide  
Category Guide
Title
Refers to any word or phrase that appears in the individual rock names. Names are generally descriptive; they allow users to search for broad terms like ‘granite’ as well as more specific names such as ‘breccia’. However, the adjacent descriptions of the specimens captures a wider range of general words and phrases and is a more powerful search tool.
Description
Refers to any word or phrase that appears anywhere in the descriptions of the specimens
Accessory minerals
Minerals that occur in very low abundance in a rock. They are usually not visible with the naked eye and contribute perhapssver, they often dominate the rare elements such as platinum group metals.
Rock-forming minerals
Minerals that make up the bulk of all rock samples and are also the ones used in rock classi?cation.
Timescale
Selecting one or more period, for example 'Jurassic'.
Theme
A term used to group together related samples that are not already gathered into a single Collection. For instance, there is a ‘SW England granites’ theme that includes such rock types as granite, hydrothermal breccia, skarn and vein samples.
Category
A general term used to label a rock sample. It is a useful way of grouping similar samples throughout a collection. Category names are often, but not exclusively, common rock names (e.g. granite, basalt, dolerite, gabbro, greisen, skarn, gneiss, amphibolite, limestone, sandstone).
Owner
The owner of the sample that appears in the collection. For example, NASA owns all the samples that appear in the Moon Rocks collection
We would like to thank the following for the use of this sample: