The unusually beautiful Fukan meteorite
The Fukang meteorite, believed to be 4.5 billion years old, was found near the city of the same name in China in 2000. It is a pallasite, a type of meteorite with clear, golden crystals of a mineral called olivine that are fused in a silvery honeycomb of nickel and iron. The meteorite is magnificent. This may be the most beautiful foreign piece of stone we have ever seen.
The Fukan meteorite was found by a tourist. This man often stopped and had lunch on this huge stone. He was always interested in what this huge stone with metal and crystals was.
Finally, he took an ax and a chisel and broke off several pieces, which he sent to the United States to confirm that it was indeed a meteorite.
The original meteorite weighed more than a thousand kilograms, but the stone was so beautiful that everyone wanted to take a piece for themselves. So the meteorite was disassembled into small pieces, which were sold at auctions or simply dispersed throughout the world.
Only 31 kg of this species is located at the University of Arizona. Marvin Kilgore from the same university has the largest piece weighing 420 kg.
In 2008, the piece could have gone under the hammer for $2 million at a New York auction, but unfortunately for the owner, buyers that day were more interested in a piece of fossilized dinosaur dung dating back 130 million years.
Pallasites are composed of approximately 50% olivine and peridot crystals and 50% nickel-iron. It is believed that these are the remains of forming planets.
Apparently they make up less than 1% of the meteorite.