Muonionalusta End-Cut

Muonionalusta is a meteorite classified as fine octahedrite which impacted in northern Scandinavia, west of the border between Sweden and Finland about one million years BCE. The first Muonionalusta was found in 1906, and is probably the oldest known meteorite roughly 4.5 billion years old. It is part of the iron core or mantle of a planetoid, which shattered into many pieces upon its fall to our planet. On Earth the meteorite has experienced four ice ages. It is mainly comprised form a combination of nickel and iron and has a very distinct pattern of etching know as the Widmanstatten Pattern thus making this a very interesting specimen.

This particular piece displays the beauty of the Muonionalusta meteorite in a two-fold fashion. On the rear side, you have the meteorite in its natural form showing its etched faces developed while entering the atmosphere. The front side and edges have been cut and polished to bring out the beautiful Widmanstatten pattern.