Meteorite**NWA 14526;LUNAR MARE BASALT**1.547 gram Endcut, FRONT-SIDE MOON! Rare

Description

Hello up for sale is NWA 14526 classified as a Lunar Mare Basalt (Unbrecciated). This extremely rare Lunar weighs 1.547 grams, beautiful endcut with a mirrior polish to one side, Freshly broken surface reveals a fine-grained mix of dark gray and light brown grains, shiny maskelynite patches are present. It has a smooth to irregular exterior surface with indentations resembling large vesicles; patches of sandblasted fusion crust were also observed.  This is an extremely rare meteorite from the front-side of the moon, 1 of 22 ever approved!!! It comes with 2 COA cards, Streaming meteorites and Mark Lyon and display case. Thanks for your interest and take care.!
Origin of the Mare Basalts
Mare basalts originate by partial melting, at temperatures of about 1200°C, deep in the lunar interior (see Fig. 8), probably at depths between 200 and 400 km. The lunar volcanic glasses appear to come from greater depths, but still from a differentiated source. The basalts are derived from the zones and piles of cumulate minerals developed, at various depths, during crystallization of the magma ocean. The isotopic systematics of the mare basalts indicate that the source region had crystallized by 4.4 billion years. Partial melting occurred in these diverse mineral zones some hundreds of millions of years later due to the slow buildup of heat from the presence of the radioactive elements K, U, and Th. The melting was not extensive. Over 25 distinct types of mare basalt were erupted over an interval of more than 1 billion years, but the total amount of melt so generated amounted to only about 0.1% of the volume of the Moon. This forms a stark contrast to the state of the Moon at accretion, when it may have been entirely molten.
Northwest Africa 14526
This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name.
Abbreviation: NWA 14526
Observed fall: No
Year found: 2021
Country: (Northwest Africa)
Mass: 505 g
Northwest Africa 14526 (NWA 14526)
Northwest Africa
Purchased: 2021
Classification: Lunar meteorite (basalt)
History: Found in northwest Africa, purchased by Luc Labenne from meteorite dealer in 2021.
Physical characteristics: stone with a smooth to irregular exterior surface with indentations resembling large vesicles; patches of sandblasted fusion crust were also observed. Freshly broken surface reveals a fine-grained mix of dark gray and light brown grains, shiny maskelynite patches are present. Unbrecciated.
Petrography: (A. Ross and C. Agee, UNM) Backscattered electron images shown mm-size patches of igneous-zoned pyroxenes. Olivines are typically smaller grains up to 500 μm. Maskelynite makes up approximately 25% of the modal mineralogy, ubiquitous ilmenite ~3%, minor troilite, chromite and silica observed. Quench melt rock veins are present throughout.
Geochemistry: (A. Ross and C. Agee, UNM)
Classification: Lunar (mare basalt). Based on the TiO2 content of quench melt this is meteorite is a low-Ti mare basalt
Place of purchase:(Northwest Africa)
Date:P 2021
Mass (g):505
Pieces:1
Class:Lunar (basalt)
Shock stage:high
Weathering grade:moderate
Fayalite (mol%):60.6±15.3
Ferrosilite (mol%):36.3±9.3
Wollastonite (mol%):16.8±7.9
Classifier:C. Agee, UNM
Type spec mass (g):20
Type spec location:UNM
Main mass:Labenne
Comments:Field name LL-1; submitted by C. Agee