| Huckitta | |
|---|---|
| Huckitta | |
| Type | Stony-iron |
| Class | Pallasite |
| Group | Main Group Pallasite |
| Structural classification | Medium octahedrite |
| Composition | metal: 7.79% Ni, 26 ppm Ga, 65ppm Ge, 0.94ppm Ir |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Northern Territory |
| Coordinates | [1] |
| Observed fall | No |
| Fall date | Prehistory |
| Found date | 1924 |
| TKW | 2300 kg |
Huckitta is a pallasite meteorite recovered in 1937 from Huckitta Cattle Station, Northern Territory, Australia.
Contents |
In 1924 a meteoritic mass of 1084 grams was found by Herbert Basedow on Burt Plain (23°33'S, 133°52'E), about 17 km north of Alice Springs. This mass was called Alice Springs. In July 1937, the main mass of 1411.5 kg was found and recovered by Cecil Madigan[2] at Huckitta (22°22'S, 135°46'E). Over 900 kg of iron shale was also found. The Alice Springs meteorite was then paired with the main mass and considered a transported fragment. Today the location of the site where the main mass was found is on Arapunya Cattle Station, which had been part of Huckitta Cattle Station but was excised from it after the meteorite had been recovered.
It is a pallasite related to Main Group of pallasites. This pallasite is severely weathered: almost all of the metal is highly oxidized and transformed into hematite and magnetite, and olivine crystals are often altered. Sometimes it is called an anomalous Main Group pallasite because, compared to other Main Group pallasites, it has rather high Ge and Ga contents, higher Pt, W, Ir, and lower Au content.
Main mass, Adelaide, South Australian Museum; 4.3 kg Fort Worth, Texas, Monnig Collection; 2.2 kg Tempe, Arizona State University; 1 kg London, Natural History Museum; 733 g Mainz, Max Planck Institute; 403 g Washington, D.C., National Museum of Natural History; 352 g Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History.