The Barwell meteorite

Abstract

Summary: Part of a meteorite was seen to fall on a road (52° 33′ 55″ N., 1° 20′ 23″ W.) in the village of Barwell, Leicestershire, at about 16.20 hrs G.M.T. on 24 December 1965. Fragments have been found over an area some ¾ mile long by ½ mile across, and appear to have been part of a single stone, of which 44 Kg (97 lb) have been recovered. The distribution, impact effects, and crustal morphology of the recovered fragments are described. Barwell is a moderately metamorphosed white olivine-hypersthene chondrite; a chemical analysis, with the derived Wahl norm, and a modal analysis are given, together with optical data and electron-probe analyses of the principal constituent minerals.