Sayh al Uhaymir 169 (SaU 169) is a 206 grams
lunar meteorite
A lunar meteorite is a meteorite that is known to have originated on the Moon. A meteorite hitting the Moon is normally classified as a transient lunar phenomenon.
Discovery
In January 1982, John Schutt, leading an expedition in Antarctica fo ...
found in the Sayh al Uhaymir region of the
Sultanate of Oman in January 2002.
This stone is an
impact-melt breccia with exceedingly high concentrations of
thorium and other
incompatible elements;
phosphorus,
rare-earth elements, and the three most important naturally occurring
radioactive elements,
potassium, thorium, and
uranium have been segregated in the liquid phase when the lunar
minerals
crystallized
Crystallization is the process by which solid forms, where the atoms or molecules are highly organized into a structure known as a crystal. Some ways by which crystals form are precipitating from a solution, freezing, or more rarely depos ...
. The impact that eventually sent this stone to the Earth is dated at 3.9 billion years and could be the
Imbrium impact. It collided with the Earth less than 9,700 years ago.
It is complete, a light gray-greenish rounded stone, dimensions and mass , found on January 16, 2002, in the central desert of Oman at 20° 34.391' N and 57° 19.400' E.
According to geologist
Edwin Gnos
The name Edwin means "rich friend". It comes from the Old English elements "ead" (rich, blessed) and "ƿine" (friend). The original Anglo-Saxon form is Eadƿine, which is also found for Anglo-Saxon figures.
People
* Edwin of Northumbria (died ...
and coworkers, the meteorite's origin can be pinpointed to the vicinity of the
Lalande impact crater; isotopic analysis shows a complex history of four distinct lunar impacts:
"Crystallization of the impact melt occurred at 3909 ± 13 Ma, followed by exhumation by a second impact at 2800 Ma, which raised the sample to a regolith position at unconstrained depth. A third impact at 200 Ma moved the material closer to the lunar surface, where it mixed with solar-wind–containing regolith. It was launched into space by a fourth impact at <0.34 Ma".
[Gnos, Edwin, et al., 2004]
Pinpointing the Source of a Lunar Meteorite: Implications for the Evolution of the Moon
Science 30 July 2004: Vol. 305 no. 5684 pp. 657–659. .
See also
*
Glossary of meteoritics
*
List of lunar meteorites
External links
*https://archive.today/20030604170334/http://epsc.wustl.edu/admin/resources/meteorites/sau169.html
*http://illite.unibe.ch/sau169/
*http://www.ilexikon.com/Sayh_al_Uhaymir_169.html
*http://www.zeit.de/2004/33/3_Fragen
References
{{Meteorites by name
Meteorites found in Oman
Lunar meteorites
2002 in Oman
2002 in science
January 2002 events in Asia