Bencubbin CBa

BEN7

Metal-rich Carbonaceous Chondrite

The Bencubbin meteorite slice beautifully displays the carbonaceous mosaic of stone and metal formed in the early solar system. Bencubbin is the “name type” for a group of similar metal-rich carbonaceous chondrites. This specimen was acquired from the Western Australian Museum.

26 x 22 x 3 mm

7.2 g slice

PPG: $138.89

$1,000.00

Categories: , ,

Bencubbin

Location:
  • Australia
    • Western Australia
Group:
  • Stone-iron
Type:
  • Carbonaceous chondrite
Class:
  • CB (Bencubbinite)
Total known weight: 118 kg

The first mass (54.2 kg) of Bencubbin was discovered in 1930 during ploughing. A second, larger mass (64.6 kg) was found in 1959 and donated to the Western Australian Museum by Mr Fred Hardwick, and a third mass (15.76 kg) was found in 1974. Bencubbin has subsequently proved to be an extreme rarity and have significant scientific importance. Originally classified as a ‘stony-iron’, today it is recognized as the type specimen of a new group of carbonaceous chondrites (CB), or ‘Bencubbinites’. Bencubbin is a breccia (a rock formed of angular fragments cemented by a finer material) enclosing clasts of material from other chondritic groups, and the meteorite remains the subject of extensive ongoing research.