Lago Valscura meteorite, Valscura lakes area, Terme di Valdieri, Valdieri, Cuneo Province, Piedmont, Italyi

Regional Level Types
Lago Valscura meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Valscura lakes area	Mountain Area
Terme di Valdieri	- not defined -
Valdieri	Commune
Cuneo Province	Province
Piedmont	Region
Italy	Country

Official name: Lago Valscura
Observed fall: no
Found: 1995, August
Coordinates (Catalogue of Meteorites): 44°11'30"N, 7°12'1"E
Approx. recovered weight: 200 g (1 piece)
H5 chondrite, Shock stage S4, Weathering grade W2
Type spec. mass: 22.1 g
Classifier: G. Pratesi and V. Moggi Cecchi, MSP (Museo di Scienze Planetarie, Prato, Italy)

In August 1995, a mountain hiker, Mr. Francesco Felice, was walking near a moraine along the shore of the upper Lago di Valscura [Lago superiore di Valscura] (coordinates: 44°11'30" N – 7°12'01" E), in the Argentera mountains, near the Terme di Valdieri. He saw a small stone and picked it up because it was the only black stone among a lot of other white stones. The man wrote to Matteo Chinellato, an Italian collector, and sent him the main mass. Mr. Chinellato realized that it was a meteorite and purchased it (Pratesi & Moggi-Cecchi, 2003).

The original total mass of the meteorite was 200 g. Matteo Chinellato owns the main mass weighing 77.4 g. It has a pyramidal shape and shows a fusion crust covering 90% of the specimen, with traces of shock fractures. Its dimensions are 6 x 5.2 x 4.5 cm. The main mass has been cut on one side to provide a sample for analysis. On this side its chondritic texture can be easily seen, with metal grains scattered in a gray-brown silicate matrix.
Electron microprobe analyses indicate an iron content of olivine (forsterite) and pyroxene consistent with a H-chondrite. Olivine and pyroxene compositions are homogeneous either inside and outside chondrules, pointing to a rather equilibrated petrologic type. Metal grains have a kamacitic composition and sulfide grains are composed mostly of troilite. Some relict chondrules show a barred texture, with an intergrowth of olivine (forsterite) crystals and feldspar. Minor crystals of hydroxylapatite and chlorapatite have been found inside chondrules.

Composition
Fayalite (mol.%): 18.95
Ferrosilite (mol.%): 16.43
Wollastonite (mol.%): 1.43

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References