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Ref # Mi21, MILLBILLILLIE (AEUC-M) Achondrite, Endcut with some Fusion Crust, Weight: 15.46 g
A TOP Specimen!
Latitude: 26° 27' South, Longitude: 120° 22' East, Wiluna District, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, FALL: Oct. 1960
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Dimensions: 38.6 x 27.4 x 15.0 mm max.
Name: Millbillillie
Class: AEUC-M, Achondrite, Ca-rich, monomict eucrite, breccicated
Location: Wiluna District
Country: WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Date: Fall: October 1960 (1300 hrs)
TKW: + 330 kg approx.
A fireball was observed by station workers whilst opening a gate on the Millbillillie - Jundee Track at about 1:00 P.M. in October 1960, and appeared to have fallen into the spinifex to their north.
No search was initiated at this time.
In 1970 and 1971 the first two specimen were recovered, one of them weighing 20 kg.
Since 1986 many more specimen have been found on this strewnlield, totalling about 300 kg.
This calcium-rich meteorite has produced mostly a nice blackish and shiny fusion crust. The main component of this meteorite is a basalt which was rapidly cooled by extrusion to the surface of its parent body, assumed to be the Asteroid Vesta.
Vesta has an average diameter of 506 km with a thin outer basaltic crust. The huge impact, indicated by the 460 km wide and 30-40 km deep crater on Vesta's south pole, which is believed to have occurred about 4.48 billion years ago, would have sent this material on it's way to us. Recent research has shown that there are about 240 small asteroids (Vestoids), composed of eucritic and diogenitic material.
The general composition of eucrites is roughly equal amounts of anorthite and pigeonite, and is the mineral forming the bulk of our Earth's upper mantle. The eucrite crystallization age is approx. 4.3 billion years.
Is this really something special? You bet!
A Piece of VESTA,
not to be missed in any Aussie Collection!