Chelyabinsk Meteorite
Image: <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Archaeodontosaurus" title="User:Archaeodontosaurus">Didier Descouens</a> (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Mineral NameChelyabinsk Meteorite
Chemical FormulaFe, Mg, Si, O, Ni, S (complex silicate and metal composition)
Mohs Hardness4.5
Lusterdull
Streak Colorlight gray
Cleavagenone (for the rock itself)
Fractureuneven
Specific Gravity3.6
Colorsdark brown, black, light gray, white, yellowish-brown
Transparencyopaque
Type LocalityField between Deputatsky and Emanzhelinsk villages, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia
Mineral GroupStony Meteorite (Chondrite)
Usesscientific study, collector specimens
Associated Mineralsolivine, pyroxene, troilite, kamacite, taenite
Rarityrare
Description
Two fragments of the Chelyabinsk meteorite, one with a broken surface revealing a light gray, heavily shocked matrix with melt veins and planar fractures, and the other displaying a complete, dark brown to black primary fusion crust with flow lines.
Geological Context
Formed in the early solar system from the accretion of dust and small grains, later subjected to impacts in space, and then entered Earth's atmosphere, forming a characteristic fusion crust during atmospheric entry.
