Meteorites | Meteorite Types | Pallasites | Peridot | Irons | Nickel-Iron | Brenham Meteor Shower | Brenham Meteorite Strewnfield | Brenham Meteorite Company, Ltd. | Jim Penix/Mineral Hunters and Larry Whitely/Metal Works | Technical Articles | Speaking Engagements

METEORITES

Meteors are the rare, breathtaking, incandescent phenomena sometimes seen in the night sky known also as shooting stars or falling stars. Meteorites are the rare fragments of natural material from outer space which survive the meteor event and impact Earth. Meteorites, typically named after the closest town, city, or geological feature to which they are "delivered", originate from asteroids, comets, the Moon, and Mars.

Hundreds of dedicated scientists throughout the world spend their lives studying meteorites because meteorites offer clues to the birth of our solar system. It is thought that meteorites were the precursors of life itself to Earth more than 4 billion years ago and may have led to the demise of the dinosaurs. Meteorites may contain organic molecules, including amino acids, which furthers the theory of Earth having been "fertilized" through these extra-terrestrial impacts. Meteorites are exceedingly rare - the entire weight of all known meteorites is less than the world's annual output of gold - and less than the world's historic output of diamonds. Different meteorites are bought, sold, and traded by universities, museums, and private collectors. The majority of meteorites have little aesthetic character, but the collection offered contains noteworthy exceptions.

METEORITE TYPES

There are three broad categories of meteorites: IRONS, representing 5% of all meteorites, STONY-IRONS, representing 1% of all meteorites, and STONES, representing approximately 94% of all meteorites. Current research indicates most stone meteorites are from the crust or mantle of a large asteroid or planetary body, stony-irons are from the mantle/core boundary of a shattered large asteroid or planetary body, and irons originate from the core of the same.

IRONS on average are composed of 8% nickel, 90% iron, and 2% trace elements. The amount of nickel determines the meteorite's sub-classification and the form of crystalline lattice grown by the nickel-iron alloys. The crystalline lattice forms a delicate and beautiful woven pattern in three dimensions, named Widmanstatten pattern or Thompson structure from its discoverers. This pattern is diagnostic in identifying meteorites which contain between 6% and 14% nickel and results from the intergrowth of bands of the two nickel-iron alloys, Kamacite and Taenite.

STONY-IRONS, as their name implies, are mixtures of stone and iron types and are of two main classes: Pallasites and mesosiderites. In Pallasites, the stone is in the form of crystalline olivine (a magnesium iron silicate) which, when it contains sufficient size and clarity to be considered a gemstone, is known as Peridot. Pallasites are strikingly exquisite and are considered the most beautiful of all meteorites when sliced and polished. Pallasites are characterized by a nickel-iron matrix with embedded peridot or olivine crystals. Pallasites originate from the mantle/core boundary of a large planetary body that broke apart during the formation of the early solar system. Most of what remains of this event is referred to as the debris comprising the Asteroid Belt, found between Mars and Jupiter. The meteorites comprising Brenham pallasites and irons are derived from the Asteroid Belt.

PALLASITES

The olivine and peridot inclusions in pallasites were initially described by Peter Simon Pallas (1741-1811) a famous German naturalist, geologist and traveler who first described pallasitic material retrieved near the town of Krasnojarsk, Siberia, in 1749. Originally, the Krasnojarsk stone was called the "Pallas Iron" as, during that period, the true origin of meteorites was speculative. The olivine takes the form of peridot gemstone inclusions embedded in a nickel-iron matrix. The olivine was described by Pallas in the Krasnojarsk stone as being rounded and elongated drops of very brittle, but hard, amber-yellow, transparent glass.

PERIDOT

Peridot, the gem variety of olivine, is known to shatter on exposure to high temperatures which may occur in certain circumstances during jewelry manufacturing. It is remarkable that some pallasites are able to survive the fiery passage from outer space through Earth's atmosphere and onto Earth's surface intact. However, because of the various stresses such as crystal growth, atmospheric flight, impacts in outer space and on Earth, and rapid temperature changes, most olivines in pallasites are highly fractured.  

The olivine and peridot in Brenham pallasites are in the form of small, well-rounded drops of amber-yellow, gold and green transparent olivine/peridot. Virtually all of the drops possess natural fractures.

George Frederick Kunz (1856-1932), mineralogist for Tiffany & Co., New York, first described the Brenham pallasites in 1891 while searching the U.S. and throughout the world for colored gemstones on behalf of his employer. It was not until the 20 th Century that an attempt was made to facet pallasitic peridot. It is reported that Tiffany & Co. in 1900 obtained a Kentucky pallasite, known as Eagle Station, and faceted a peridot specimen from the stone.

In the 1970s, Dr. Harvey H. Nininger (1886-1986), the world's foremost expert on meteorites and meteorite hunter and recoverer of his time, collected a number of Brenham pallasites from which he retrieved a single transparent peridot crystal for faceting. He stated, "I (was) determined to remove and have it mounted in ring for my wife . . . I thought: How romantic, to present (her) a ring with a gem cut out of this world." The peridot was given to a jeweler, who although cautioned to treat it carefully, managed to break the gem while mounting it. Nininger claimed he never located another perfect peridot crystal in any of the meteorites he recovered. If a pallasitic peridot gemstone is able to be faceted, it must be considered one of the rarest of all gems.

IRONS

Iron meteorites, commonly known as "irons", originate from the cores of large asteroids or planetary bodies. All iron meteorites have come to Earth from the Asteroid Belt and are primarily composed of two nickel-iron alloys, Kamacite, the alloy containing the most iron, and Taenite, which has a higher nickel content. Irons often contain additional metals, as well as iron-sulfides and iron-phosphides. The primary nickel-iron alloys in Brenhan irons are Kamacite and Taenite, with an occasional iron-nickel cobalt phosphide, Schreibersite.   Comparing Brenham irons to Brenham pallasites, the metal component of the latter is primarily Kamacite and Taenite, with the iron-sulfide, Troilite adhering to the olivine/peridot crystals.  

NICKEL-IRON

When cut and etched, the intergrowth of the nickel-iron alloys in meteorites displays an exquisite, natural design - a woven texture - known as Widmanstatten pattern or Thompson structure. This pattern does not appear in terrestrial iron ores. Its presence is diagnostic in the identification of a meteorite. In effect, this is the crystalline matrix of a meteorite with millions of years likely being required for the molecules of the alloys in iron meteorites to crystallize. Among the requirements for such crystallization to occur is that the parent mass must be relatively small so there is little pressure and heating and it must be in a vacuum to minimize the number of molecules to which the object can lose its heat, which provides a prolonged cooling period. Such conditions exist uniquely among asteroids in the vacuum of outer space. The Brenham iron crystalline matrix is distinctive and unique in nature, containing Kamacite and Taenite, which are the iron and nickel-iron alloys, respectively, in bands as octahedrons as a three-dimensional crystal lattice. Also present are occasional Schreibersite laths, which are irregular and bright silver to brassy-colored; Schreibersite being a nickel-iron cobalt phosphide.

THE BRENHAM METEORITE SHOWER

As the separate meteors descended, each piece would have also given off its own sonic booms, creating an awesome and spectacular event. When they hit - all within a few seconds of each other - the meteorites did not form explosive impact craters as the meteorites would have been destroyed in the resulting impacts. Rather it appears, from Brenham Meteorite Company's exploration and recovery efforts, that each of the meteorites including the record 1,430-pound Main Mass, formed what are known as impact pits - simply, holes formed by the passage and embedding of each meteorite in the Kansas soil - with the approximate diameters of each pit being the same as the respective meteorites. Generally, the larger meteorites were driven deeper into the Earth, whereas smaller ones would be embedded at the surface or just below the surface. For example, most of the meteorites you see here

THE BRENHAM METEORITE STREWNFIELD

Generally, a single shower of meteorites will fall forming a pattern on the ground, known as a meteorite strewnfield. Strewnfields are often elliptical with the long axis parallel to the meteors' line of flight. Smaller meteors drop-out first marking the proximal end of the strewnfield. Larger meteors travel further down range and drop-out last, due to their higher masses marking the distal end of the strewnfield. The pattern created by the scattering of the meteorites resulting from the Brenham meteor event is an ongoing project Brenham Meteorite Company, Ltd. is devoted to determining.  

The Brenham strewnfield parameters are not defined as yet. Actually, this is the key to Brenham Meteorite Company, Ltd.'s recovery efforts and the reason for Brenham Meteorite Company, Ltd.'s careful and thorough meteorite search efforts, detailed meteorite recoveries, and complete documentation efforts. Historically, Brenham meteorites were found, moved, and carried away by American Indians, settlers to Kansas, cowboys and others, with little or no documentation. Many meteorites were dismissed as not being meteorites and thus lost and undocumented. Prior strewnfield research resulted in partial, incomplete and unpublished documentation and is of limited reliability. Today's efforts by Brenham Meteorite Company, Ltd. are designed to qualify and uantify the Brenham meteorite strewnfield with new, reliable data secured by using state-of-the-art equipment and prior published and unpublished reports. Brenham Meteorite Company, Ltd.'s project has identified and developed what is, undoubtedly a state treasure for the state of Kansas and, arguably, a national treasure as well.  

BRENHAM METEORITE COMPANY, LTD.

Brenhan Meteorite Company, Ltd. is composed of the team of Steve Arnold, a professional meteorite hunter with over 15 years experience in hunting and locating meteorites in strewnfields around the world, and Philip C. Mani an oil and gas attorney, and professional geologist. The two share a passion for meteorites and all things meteoritic. The team carefully and thoughtfully set-out to explore for and recover meteorites in the Brenham, Kansas strewnfield in late September 2005. They work closely with landowners in the area of the meteorite strewnfield to thoroughly search for meteorite "targets" at depth. All meteorite exploration and recovery efforts are overseen by Steve. He diligently documents all scientific data for each recovery and sees records are made, including digitally-recorded video footage shot by professionals and taking soil and mineralization samples from each site. All meteorites recovered are removed with the land owners being present and

Here, the team of Jim Penix/Mineral Hunters and sculptor Larry Whitely/Metal Works, in an exclusive arrangement with their associates at Brenham Meteorite Company, Ltd., offer a matchless collection of aesthetic iron and pallasite meteorites - otherworldly sculptures of the storied and highly sought-after Brenham, Kansas find.

Rarely seen as a whole or intact specimens and never before seen in such impressive sizes, these difficult to obtain natural sculptures from outer space are thoughtfully and handsomely displayed by these award-winning artists.

Their passion and distinctive work with natural objects enhance the striking features, sculptural contours and natural beauty of these very recently discovered exceedingly rare material history specimens.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES

Technical and Scientific articles will be available upon publication of the same.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Members of the Brenham Meteorite Company, Ltd. are available to speak at events. For more information, email pmani@brenhammeteoritecompany.com