9.05" Polished El Eglab Mesosiderite Meteorite (323 g) Slice

The El Eglab 001 Meteorite

The El Eglab meteorite is a stony-iron mesosiderite purchased from an Algerian dealer in January 2023. Its total known mass is about 33 kilograms.

El Eglab contains unusually large and nearly spherical iron-nickel inclusions. Its stony portions are brecciated, containing largely orthopyroxene, pigeonite, and olivine, though it contains trace amounts of diopside and rare anorthite.

Mesosiderites are a rare kind of stony-iron meteorite: only 208 are known, and over a quarter of them have been found in Antarctica. Only 7 mesosidertite falls have ever been witnessed, and what meteorites are found tend to be large masses.

They are characterized by an almost even proportion of metallic nickel-iron and silicates, and often have irregular, brecciated textures. They contain many compositional similarities to diogenites and eucrites from 4 Vesta. Some scientists believe they are sourced from the smaller asteroid 16 Psyche.

Perhaps the most well-known mesosiderite is the Vaca Muerta fall in Chile, which has produced well over 3 metric tons of material since its recognition as a meteorite in the 19th century. Other well-known mesosiderites include the Estherville meteorite, which fell in Iowa in 1879; the Lowicz fall in Poland in 1935; and the famous Chinguetti meteorite out of Mauritania.