.56" Lunar Meteorite Slice (1.23 g) - NWA 13951

NWA 13951 is nicknamed "Starry Night", and for good reason! This lunar feldspathic breccia is a spectacular starry collage of light and dark clasts that really shine when cut and polished.

This meteorite consists of two nearly identical masses totaling about 4 kilograms. They were purchased form a dealer in Mauritania in 2021. Its interior reveals a gorgeous example of lunar breccia: stunning arrays of plagioclase, olivine, pyroxene, and melt with occasional nickel-iron grains studded throughout. A truly handsome meteorite that evokes the night sky it came from!

Moon Rocks... On Earth...

Think the only moon rocks on Earth are samples brought back from Apollo missions? Think again!

Lunar meteorites are formed like other stony (chondrite) meteorites, but they were ejected into space by meteorites and other celestial bodies hitting the moon. Almost all lunar meteorites are brecciated amalgamations of feldspathic and basaltic rocks commonly found on the Moon's surface.

Lunar meteorites are pretty rare to find on Earth: the vast majority of meteorites are from the asteroid belt, and less than 1 percent of classified meteorites are lunar in origin. The total mass of all known lunar meteorites is probably less than 1,000 kilograms. Owning a piece of the moon is a pretty rare accomplishment!

One reason they are so rare is because lunar meteorites superficially look just like earth rocks. Even a true meteorite expert would not recognize a lunar meteor laying on the ground among earthly stones. Lunar meteorites have only been recognized in places naturally devoid of rocks, like sandy deserts and ice sheets. In fact, there has never been a lunar meteorite classified from North America, South America or Europe. Most are found in the Sahara Desert (Northwest Africa), Antarctica, or Oman. All Antarctic meteorites are governmental property so they cannot be privately attained.