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Limerick meteorite, Limerick County, Munster, Irelandi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Limerick meteorite | Meteorite Fall Location |
| Limerick County | County |
| Munster | Province |
| Ireland | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
52° 34' 0'' North , 8° 46' 59'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Meteorite Class:
Meteoritical Society Class:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Adare | 1,106 (2017) | 1.0km |
| Old Kildimo | 409 (2017) | 5.3km |
| Patrickswell | 841 (2017) | 6.1km |
| Croom | 1,157 (2017) | 6.9km |
| Croagh | 222 (2017) | 7.3km |
Ordinary chondrite, black and veined (H5; S3)
Fell, 10 September 1813, 9 hrs; 50 kg
A shower of stones fell after the appearance of a fireball accompanied by detonations. The larger stones included masses of 29.5, 10.9, and 7.9 kg which fell at Brasky, Faha, and Scagh, respectively. Olivine (Fa19) and orthopyroxene (Fs16) compositions are characteristic of the H-chondrite geochemical group. Mineralogically, olivine and low-Ca pyroxene account for roughly 70% of the meteorite with minor amounts of Fe-Ni metal (mostly kamacite), troilite, and feldspar. Accessory chromite, copper, phosphates, and, presumably, other minor silicates are also present.
A Pb,Th:He gas retention age of 3.02 Ga and cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) ages of 6.8 Ma (He,Ne) and 7.41 Ma (Cl-Ar) are reported. The CRE age is similar to many other H5 CRE ages, suggesting that the Limerick pre-impact meteoroid may have been involved in a collision that produced other H5 meteoroids which eventually reached the earth.
The H (relatively high in total iron) chondrites are the second largest group of ordinary chondrite falls and represent over 35% of well-classified, witnessed falls. Approximately half of the H-group chondrites are members of the H5 petrologic type H subgroup. Limerick was only the 8th H5 meteorite fall to be recovered of those now classified exactly as 'H5' chondrites. Limerick is also the 16th most massive of these 174 witnessed H5 falls (June 2017).
The Brasky mass has been held at Ireland's National Museum in Dublin with the Faha mass held at the University Museum of Oxford.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
6 valid minerals.
Meteorite/Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Chromite Formula: Fe2+Cr3+2O4 |
| ⓘ 'Fayalite-Forsterite Series' Description: Olivine composition (Fa19) characteristic of H-group chondrites [e.g., Range: Fa17.3-20.2, following Rubin,1990]. |
| ⓘ 'Feldspar Group' Description: Lacking a modern reference, the 'Feldspar' is presumably mostly or entirely albitic plagioclase. |
| ⓘ Native Copper Formula: Cu Description: Copper usually found in metal according to Rubin(1994). |
| ⓘ Native Iron Formula: Fe |
| ⓘ Native Iron var. Kamacite Formula: (Fe,Ni) |
| ⓘ 'Orthopyroxene Subgroup' Description: Mason (1962) orthopyroxene composition (Fs16) typical of H chondrites. References: |
| ⓘ Taenite Formula: (Fe,Ni) |
| ⓘ Tetrataenite Formula: FeNi |
| ⓘ Troilite Formula: FeS |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Copper | 1.AA.05 | Cu |
| ⓘ | Native Iron | 1.AE.05 | Fe |
| ⓘ | var. Kamacite | 1.AE.05 | (Fe,Ni) |
| ⓘ | Taenite | 1.AE.10 | (Fe,Ni) |
| ⓘ | Tetrataenite | 1.AE.10 | FeNi |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Troilite | 2.CC.10 | FeS |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Chromite | 4.BB.05 | Fe2+Cr3+2O4 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Feldspar Group' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Fayalite-Forsterite Series' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Orthopyroxene Subgroup' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| O | Oxygen | |
|---|---|---|
| O | ⓘ Chromite | Fe2+Cr23+O4 |
| O | ⓘ Fayalite-Forsterite Series | |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Fayalite-Forsterite Series | |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Fayalite-Forsterite Series | |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Troilite | FeS |
| Cr | Chromium | |
| Cr | ⓘ Chromite | Fe2+Cr23+O4 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Chromite | Fe2+Cr23+O4 |
| Fe | ⓘ Native Iron | Fe |
| Fe | ⓘ Native Iron var. Kamacite | (Fe,Ni) |
| Fe | ⓘ Taenite | (Fe,Ni) |
| Fe | ⓘ Tetrataenite | FeNi |
| Fe | ⓘ Troilite | FeS |
| Fe | ⓘ Fayalite-Forsterite Series | |
| Ni | Nickel | |
| Ni | ⓘ Native Iron var. Kamacite | (Fe,Ni) |
| Ni | ⓘ Taenite | (Fe,Ni) |
| Ni | ⓘ Tetrataenite | FeNi |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Native Copper | Cu |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
British and Irish IslesGroup of Islands
Eurasian PlateTectonic Plate
- AvaloniaVolcanic Arc
EuropeContinent
Ireland (island)Island
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References
www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com (n.d.) http://www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com/test/limerick2.jpg
www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com (n.d.) http://www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com/test/limerick8g240.jpg
articles.adsabs.harvard.edu (n.d.) http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1968IrAJ..8.228L&data_type=PDF_HIGH&whole_paper=YES&type=PRINTER&filetype=.pdf
Mason, Brian (1962, May 24th) The Classification of Chondritic Meteorites. American Museum Novitates 2085. The American Museum of Natural History
Mason, Brian (1963) Olivine composition in chondrites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 27 (10) 1011-1023 doi:10.1016/0016-7037(63)90062-0
Wasson, John T., Wang, Sichao (1991) The histories of ordinary chondrite parent bodies: U,Th-He age distributions. Meteoritics, 26 (2) 161-167 doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1991.tb01033.x
