Amazing Seymchan pallasite meteorite slice, demonstrating the transition from an iron structure to an olivine structure. Etched and polished on both sides, the full slice weighs 713.9 grams and measures approximately 185 mm x 184 mm x 4 mm.
Geologist F.A. Mednikov found the Seymchan meteorite in a dry river bed in 1967. The urban settlement is located in the Magadan Oblast in Russia, along the Seymchan River. The massive space rock was found lying among river stones, but stood out for its triangular shape and the thumbprint-like impressions on its surface. It was originally classified as a IIE iron, the octahedrites, which encompasses iron meteorites with a crystal structure that mimics an octahedron.
Decades after Mednikov’s original discovery, new Seymchan material was found to contain olivine crystals and the iron was reclassified and its designation was changed to pallasite in 2007. Meteorite experts believe that as the Seymchan mass was hurtling through the atmosphere, chunks of rock were sheared off at the nickel-iron/olivine border. As a result, some Seymchan pieces display olivine-rich clusters while others consist almost entirely of nickel-iron.
Scientists have also found that Seymchan contains a high percentage of iridium, a rare, silvery-white chemical element. Iridium is brittle, despite being considered to be one of the densest metals known to science. On Earth, it’s found in ore mined from South Africa, Brazil, Russia, Australia, and Alaska, USA. Iridium is found in much higher abundance in meteorites than on Earth, which interests scientists making a case for asteroid mining.
Seymchan meteorites are attractive to collectors for various reasons; it has an interesting back story and its slices can have many appearances; some areas display olivine-rich clusters while others consist almost entirely of nickel-iron. Worldwide interest in meteorites continues to grow and olivine-rich Seymchan specimens are now extremely difficult to acquire. Even rarer are transitional pieces, such as this one, which display border areas in the meteorite where nickel-iron material, which led to Seymchan being initially classified as an iron, met the olivine-rich pallasitic meteorite later discovered by scientists.
Accompanied by an Aerolite Meteorites COA. Aerolite, one of the world’s most well-respected meteorite companies, was founded by Geoff Notkin, who famously starred in the TV show “Meteorite Men.”