Didim meteorite, Didim District, Aydin Province, Turkeyi

Regional Level Types
Didim meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Didim District	District
Aydin Province	Province
Turkey	Country

Ordinary chondrite, unequilibrated regolith breccia (H3-5; S2; W0)
Fall, 1 February 2007; 3.4 kg, 5 pieces

After a fireball was seen from as far away as 200 km, an enormous explosion followed by dozens of rumbling detonations were heard over Bodrum, Milas, and Didim cities. While some pieces apparently fell into the sea, three samples covered with a thin fusion crust were recovered and studied. The meteorite is a breccia dominated by whitish H5 clasts within a much darker H3 host. Opaques (mostly Fe-Ni metal) occupy about ~10-11 vol%. Small chondrules (clearly delineated in the H3 regions) and somewhat larger olivine crystals (5mm) are prominent. Olivine (Fa19-20) and pyroxene (Fs17-19) within whitish regions are nearly equilibrated, but otherwise, the silicates are more diverse including occasional small aggregates with nearly pure enstatite and forsterite. Diverse chondrules include silica-bearing, spinel-rich, and glassy types.

Didim is one of 5 witnessed falls classified exactly as an H3-5 chondrite (as of September 2015). The main masses are kept at Çanakkale University, Turkey.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References