Zufar, Oman (19°3.728’N, 54°44.665’E)Carbonaceous chondrite (Ungrouped)

Lot Description:
While meteorites are alien to Earth, this sample is an alien among the aliens. This is an end piece is one of the more mysterious meteorites known to exist. Well-defined chondrules are suspended in a fine-grained iron-rich matrix on the cut surface. The rounded exterior is a graphite-hued stippled texture. For the more sophisticated collector, this is an exemplary specimen of an unusual meteorite. Modern cutting.
31 x 29 x 3mm (1.25 x 1 x 0.1 in.)
5.72g

Bombardments of carbonaceous meteorites have regularly introduced the precursors of life to Earth. Scores of amino acids — the building blocks of proteins — and tens of thousands of distinct organic compounds have been discovered in just one such carbonaceous meteorite, Murchison (see lot 19).

The ungrouped designation for the carbonaceous meteorite offered here is the result of its unusual oxygen isotopes and its unique mineralogy which includes an iron-rich matrix. Of the 2500 carbonaceous meteorites contained in the scientific literature — which represents about 3.5% of all documented meteorites — only 40 are ungrouped, which represents 0.05% of all documented meteorites. The total mass of DHO 2066 is just 13 grams. For meteorite cognoscenti, this is a select specimen of an exotic meteorite.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue.