Bremervörde meteorite, Bremervörde, Rotenburg (Wümme) District, Lower Saxony, Germanyi

Regional Level Types
Bremervörde meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Bremervörde	Town
Rotenburg (Wümme) District	District
Lower Saxony	State
Germany	Country

Ordinary chondrite, unequilibrated (H/L3.9, br; S2)
Fell, 13 May 1855; 7.25 kg, 5 stones

After detonations at least five stones were recovered, the largest with a mass of 2.75 kg. The largest stone contains prominent chondrules embedded in a ground mass of silicates, Ni-Fe metal and minor opaques. Olivine, clinopyroxene, and Fe-Ni metal are the dominant constituents of the meteorite. The olivine (Fa17.4) observed in some areas, the major component of the chondrules, is a typical marker for H chondrites. Total iron content (~24 wt%) is, however, closer to the boundary between H (high-Fe) and L (low-Fe) ordinary chondrites. The variable composition of the clinopyroxene is perhaps the strongest indicator of the meteorite's primitive, unequilibrated petrologic type. The clinopyroxene plus the ubiquitous presence of glass, often of plagioclase composition, are perhaps the most obvious indicators of preterrestrial shock(s). Minor amounts of other silicates (orthopyroxene, plagioclase) and opaques listed below indicate some complexities in the overall mix. Ca-rich phosphate is also present, but in grains too small to be mineralogically characterized in the sources cited.

At least 31 ordinary chondrites have been recovered in Germany — most of them witnessed falls. However, Bremervörde is the only H/L chondrite and one of only 2 largely unequilibrated chondrites with petrologic type <4 from Germany. Indeed, worldwide, Bremervörde is one of only 4 listed 'H/L chondrite' falls now listed at the Meteoritical Bulletin Database [May 2016]. It seems somewhat unclear whether the H/L chondrites are derived from the original parent bodies (OPB) of the H and/or L ordinary chondrites or are derived from another separate OPB.

The 2.8 kg mass still at the University of Göttingen in 2000 represents approximately half of the now remaining mass. It should be noted that minor limonite stains remind us that even fresh falls are not immune to weathering processes.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References