TARDA C2 Ung #22 – 1,6 g

TARDA is a meteorite that fell in Morocco on August 25, 2020.
This meteorite has been classified as C2 ungrouped, a rare type of very primitive carbonaceous.
Tagish lake is a meteorite of the same type and sells for over 1000 euros per gram.
This meteorite is composed of many very small fragments, beautiful pieces with crusts are rare.
Isotopic analyses show that some pieces have values close to CI chondrites, and other pieces have Yamato (CY) values..
An important meteorite at the scientific level in the years to come.

Writeup from MB 109 :

Tarda 31° 49′ 35″N, 4° 40′ 46″W

Morocco

Confirmed fall : 2020

Classification: Carbonaceous chondrite (C2, ungrouped)

Classification : (C. Agee, UNM; K. Ziegler, UNM; A. Irving, UWS; L. Garvie, ASU; D. Sheikh, FSU; P. Carpenter, WUSL; H. Chennaoui Aoudjehane, FSAC; M. Zolensky, JSC; P. Schmitt-Kopplin, HZM) Carbonaceous chondrite (C2-ungrouped). The bulk mineralogy is consistent with a petrologic grade 2, based on the predominance of smectite and serpentine together with the presence of anhydrous mafic silicates, AOA, and chondrules. The oxygen isotopes give a bimodal distribution of the δ¹⁸O-values, with one group having values somewhat like those of the CI chondrites, and the other group like values for the Yamato-type (CY) carbonaceous chondrites (King et al., 2019). However, Δ¹⁷O values are lower than those for CI and CY chondrites, and plot below the TFL. These isotopic values do not overlap with those of any established carbonaceous chondrite group, hence the ungrouped designation.

Specimens : 18.4 g including one polished thin section and one polished thick section at UWB; 21g and one polished thin section at UNM; 7 g provided by A. Aaronson and 6 g provided by J. Redelsperger at FSAC; 20 g at the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment, Rabat, Morocco provided by A. Aaronson; total 628 g with A. Aaronson (including 99 g, 82.4 g and 52.6 g stones); 540 g with M. Farmer and A. Karl, 260 g with J. Poblador; 480 g with D. Dickens; 145 g with M. Oulkouch; 146 g with J. Redelsperger; 31 g with B. Hoefnagels.