ZAGAMI

11*44'N., 7*5'E.

Katsina province, Nigeria

Achondrite, Shergottite (Martian basalt)

Fell on October 3, 1962. A man chasing cows out of his cornfield in Zagami Rock, Nigeria heard a loud explosion and was buffeted by a pressure wave. Seconds later there was a puff of smoke and a thud about 10 feet away. A 40 pound stone believed to have come from Mars had just arrived. Of the 20,000 meteorites that have been discovered on Earth, only 12 have been identified as originating from the planet Mars. Geochemists from the Univ. of California, San Diego have analyzed glasses that were shock-melted when Zagami was blasted off the Martian surface and into space.They report that the gas samples from these glasses are very similar to atmospheric gasses the two U.S. Viking spacecraft found when they landed on Mars in 1976. The Zagami stone must have resided on or near the surface of Mars because not all of the 12 recognized Martian meteorites contain these trapped gases. Zagami is mostly a fine-grained pyroxene-rich basalt consisting of 75% pyroxene (augite and pigeonite) and 25% plagioclase glass and minor amounts of mesostasis and oxide and accessory sulfide and phosphate. Shown is a 40mm X 17mm X 12mm slice of 20.9 grams, E-mail offers considered.