Oftentimes iron meteorites from the same asteroid will exhibit a similar pattern. Most iron meteorites display a metallic iron-nickel latticework, known as a Widmanstätten pattern the presence of which is diagnostic in the identification of an iron meteorite. This specimen was recovered with the aid of a metal detector. In previous generations, indigenous tribesmen recovered small meteorite shards at or near the surface and fashioned them into spear points and other tools.
It was an impact event between two asteroids that ejected what were to become Gibeon meteorites into interplanetary space, a journey that ended when the wandering mass plunged through Earth’s atmosphere before exploding and slamming into what is now the Kalahari Desert in Namibia. The deepest of the scoops is the result of water having collected in small basins during the meteorite’s earthly residence and slowly broadening over a period of thousands of years into the sculptural form now seen. The largely flat reverse is the result of this meteorite having cleaved along a crystalline plane. This meteorite evidences regmaglypts resulting from frictional heating during its fiery entry through Earth’s atmosphere. Unlike most meteorites, this compelling sculptural form encompasses every desirable attribute of an iron meteorite. Like most iron meteorites, Gibeon meteorites originated 4.5 billion years ago from the molten core of an asteroid located between Mars and Jupiter whose shattered remains are part of the asteroid belt.
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