Lunar Meteorite
Dar al Gani 262
Al Jufrah, Libya – March, 1997.
Meteorites originating from the Moon’s surface are rare. Though there are 371 separate stones discovered that have been analyzed as lunar, these make up fragments of about 30 meteorite falls. All have been found in North Africa, the Antarctica and Oman, where the stones are easy to discern from the surroundings. These meteorites are compared to the moon rocks brought back from the Apollo lunar landings for similarities.
It’s arrival on Earth was the result of a collision between an asteroid and the moon’s surface. Since the moon’s gravitational force is only 17% of the Earth’s, the force of the collision easily jettisoned lunar rock into space.
The museum’s specimen is a fragment of Dar Al Gani 262, a lunar meteorite found near Al Jufrah, Libya. Argon gas dating indicates it is composed of pristine lunar highland rock that experienced several impacts from other meteorites of different ages before it was struck and driven into space approximately 160,000 years ago.
The specimen was acquire by the museum from New England Meteoritical Services of Mendon, Massachusetts.