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Venus Transit African Adventure - Gibeon Meteorite


More photos from this trip

 

If you're into meteorites, one of the neat things on display in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, is a display of pieces of the Gibeon meteorite. Some 25 tons of it have been recovered since its discovery in 1838 and it is one of the most commonly available meteorites available on the market despite having been banned from sale or possession in Namibia a few years ago.

The pieces on display are welded onto stainless steel pedestals, and yet someone managed to free one and carry it off!

The bottom shot shows the inside of a Gibeon fragment when it has been polished and etched. The characteristic crystal pattern (Widmanstatten pattern) occurs in octahedrite nickel-iron meteorites and not in terrestrial ores.