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HEDO Display - Lot of Four Meteorites from Asteroid Vesta!
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HEDO Display - Lot of Four Meteorites from Asteroid Vesta!

$59.00

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This kit comes in a handsome Riker display case.  Each kit contains four (4) samples from asteroid Vesta - one of each type from the HEDO group of meteorites.  HEDO is an acronym for Howardite, Eucrite, Diogenite, and Olivine Diogenite.  Olivine diogenite is the latest member of this group, which was known as the HED group until then. 

At one time, early in asteroid Vesta's history, it was subjected to a terrible impact with another planetoid.  This impact shook Vesta to it's core and nearly shattered the small world.  The remnants of this ancient collision are still visible today as a massive crater on Vesta's surface.  This impact ejected great quantities of Vesta's material into space, which rained down on Earth as meteorites.  Similar to Earth, Vesta had undergone some differentiation into zones - crust, mantle, and core.  Representatives of each layer of Vesta are present in the HEDO meteorite group.  Generally speaking, the relation between the different types is shown below :

1) Howardite - this is the "topsoil" of Vesta.  This is outer crust material that is a regolith breccia (typically) and mixture of chondritic and achondritic materials.

2) Eucrite - this type represents the crust-mantle boundary of Vesta.  It's similar in some ways to Howardite, and is generally a mixture of stony components which is friable. 

3) Diogenite - this meteorite type comes from Vesta's mantle.  It is an unusual metal-poor material that is unlike any other meteorite type.

4) Olivine Diogenite - this rare meteorite type is thought to originate from the mantle-core boundary, deep down inside Vesta.  Olivine diogenite represents material from the deepest known points in Vesta.  Olivine diogenite is a beautiful and unusual meteorite that is like no other.

This kit contains four (4) micromount samples, one of each type above.  All four samples are stored in a gemjar.  The gemjar is then presented in a Riker Box display case with glass lid and label.  Refer to the photos.  The black centimeter cube is shown for scale and is not included.

The meteorites in this kit are listed below :

1) NWA 3117 - Howardite.
2) Camel Donga - Eucrite.
3) Tatahouine - Diogenite. (witnessed fall)
4) NWA 1877 - Olivine Diogenite.

You also get a copy of the Vesta "Layers Chart" that shows what area of Vesta the meteorite types originate from.

These meteorite types have been matched to asteroid Vesta by spectral analysis.  The current NASA Dawn Mission is sending a probe to orbit and study asteroids Vesta and Ceres.  One of the goals of this mission is to confirm the HEDO-Vesta meteorite connection.  These studies will teach us much about the formation of Vesta and other planetoids in our solar system - including our own.


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