Yamato 791197, official abbreviation Y-791197, is a
meteorite
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...
that was found in
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
on November 20, 1979.
It is the first rock to be found on Earth identified as a
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 ...
(see also
ALH 81005
Allan Hills A81005 or ALH A81005 (sometimes also named without the "A" in front of the number) was the first lunar meteorite found on Earth. It was found in 1982 in the Allan Hills at the end of the Transantarctic Mountains, during a meteorite gath ...
). It was collected by
National Institute of Polar Research, Japan.
Classification and characteristics
Weighing 52.4 grams, it is a weakly shocked
feldspathic
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldspa ...
regolith breccia
Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix.
The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of di ...
believed to have come from the
lunar highlands on the
far side of the Moon.
It is classified as lunar-anorthositic breccia, a lunar meteorite that is primarily
anorthositic.
See also
*
Glossary of meteoritics
This is a glossary of terms used in meteoritics, the science of meteorites.
#
* 2 Pallas – an asteroid from the asteroid belt and one of the likely parent bodies of the CR meteorites.
* 4 Vesta – second-largest asteroid in the asteroid b ...
*
List of lunar meteorites
This is a list of lunar meteorites. That is, meteorites that have been identified as having originated from Earth's Moon.
Notes
Where multiple meteorites are listed (e.g. NWA 4472/4485), they are believed to be pieces of the same original b ...
References
External links
Chemical Classification
{{Meteorites by name
Meteorites found in Antarctica
Lunar meteorites