Barwell meteorite, Barwell, Hinckley and Bosworth, Leicestershire, England, UKi

Regional Level Types
Barwell meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Barwell	Civil Parish
Hinckley and Bosworth	District
Leicestershire	County
England	Constituent Country
UK	Country

Ordinary Chondrite (L5; S3; W0)
Fell, 24 December 1965; 44.0 kg

A shower of stones fell after a fireball, accompanied by detonations, was observed with ~ 44 kg recovered over the next few weeks. The chondrules within the meteorite mass are poorly defined but are primarily composed of granular olivine accompanied by lesser amounts of prismatic orthopyroxene. Minor amounts of plagioclase, diopside, kamacite, taenite, and troilite are found in lesser amounts in chondrules and/or matrix. Accessory minerals have also been used in dating efforts. Mosaicism within olivine grains is indicative of moderate preterrestrial shock (shock level 3). Dating efforts detail several features that were created by multiple impacts in the ~4.4-4.55 Ga BP epoch.

A curious H-group inclusion (5 x 12 mm in cross-section) appears to be a minimally altered 'pebble' which retains its 'foreign' H group chemistry almost intact. For example, small kamacite grains [4.4 wt.% Ni; 1.0 wt.% Co] abut well-equilibrated taenite [47% Ni; 0.2% Co] indicating unaltered evidence of its very slow cooling on another asteroid.

The L (relatively low iron) chondrites account for ~45% of all observed and properly classified meteorite falls with the L5 type accounting for ~20% of the L chondrite group. (81 Witnessed L5 falls were listed in early May 2016). Most of the mass is held at the Natural History Museum in London including several specimens in the 1-8 kg range. However, moderate-sized masses are also held at the Leicester City Museum and elsewhere around the world.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References