Specimen #2290

Name: Campo Del Cielo Iron Meteorite

Type: Meteorite

Locality: Campo del Cielo, Gran Chaco, Chaco, Argentina

Favorite? N

Fluorescent? N

Size:

Weight:

Acquired: 2011-08-30

Source: Gift from Lauren

Label: N

Comment: Your Campo meteorite fell in Argentina about 4000-5000 years ago and was discovered in 1576. Over 100 tons (about 220,000 lbs or 100,000 kg) of pieces have been recovered from the site all of which are from a single fall. The most obvious feature of this meteorite is how heavy it is for its size. This is because it is mostly iron (92%) with some nickel (6.68%) and some smaller pieces of other elements. The iron in your meteorite is much heavier than Earth iron because Earth iron is never just iron and never this dense. It contains other lighter minerals mixed in along with pockets of air and microscopic gaps which make it much lighter. Also, only in space can iron atoms naturally align themselves into such a dense structure. This is one way we know your meteorite was really formed in space. Where does space iron come from? Think of the Earth. What's in its interior? Molten iron. Iron sinks to the center of rocky planets such as Earth because it is quite dense. Your meteorite was once part of the molten iron core of another planet. Eventually that planet slowed its spin, which allowed the inner core of iron to slowly begin to harden and form into large crystals. About 4.5 billion years ago some other large object slammed into the planet knocking loose the piece of iron that eventually became the Campo Del Cielo Iron Meteorite. Your meteorite is estimated to be about 4.5 billion years old. This means that it is older than the planet Earth which is estimated at 3.5 billion years. You now own something older than the planet we live on.

Minerals: Iron (Fe)

There is one picture on file

M02290-01.jpg:

Campo Del Cielo Iron Meteorite, Campo del Cielo, Gran Chaco, Chaco, Argentina