Chondritic Meteorite NWA 869

Above: The front of the specimen card. "...Like drops of fiery rain"~ H.C. Sorby, English Geologist Before the Sun, the solar system was a chaotic swirl of dust and ice. 4.5 billion years later, there are planets, moons, and even life. The journey is a long one that has been difficult to understand. The most important clues we have come from stones nearly as old as the solar system itself: chondritic meteorites. Stony meteorites are classified into two categories, chondrites and achondrites. Chondrites, known for their inclusion of small grains called chondrules, are meteorites that have not undergone internal melting or differentiation since their formation. This means that the material within the meteorites dates back 4.5 billion years, to the birth of the solar system as we know it. Above: A selection of NWA 869 specimens, each like a drop of firey rain. This specimen is a complete chondritic meteorite, specifically meteorite NWA 869. NWA 869 was discovered in Northwest Africa in