Virtual CollectionMain MenuThe Brock University Earth Sciences Virtual Collectionrocks, minerals, and fossils in a digital format.IndexHow to get to where you're goingERSC 3P90Index of samples for ERSC 3P90 LabsERSC 1P01 Mineral Sample image IndexDirections to the pictures of images for first-year Earth Science classesERSC1P01 Igneous Sample IndexIndex of igneous samples for first-year labsERSC1P01 Metamorphic Sample IndexIndex of metamorphic samples for first-year labsERSC 1P01 FossilsERSC Misc Rock Samples (unnamed)Whole rock sample imageryIgneous Rock samplesA place to explore rocks that have crystallized from molten materialVolcanic SamplesVolcanic samplesMeteoritesSedimentology Sample IndexAccess to sedimentology sample imageryMineralogy Quick Quiz PicturesA smattering of samples from the mineralogy collection to test your ability to recognize samples visually.A small collection of polished thin section viewsA small collection of polished thin section viewsRick Cheel4c2cab10f340dae1a53f5b584acd3f5528e40a41Mariek Schmidt3b678a5bd42eb8bf9a55fb761e5f17b11ce872c1Justin Pentescoe1b177acadc784b8497de179c36bc8e98f92c5e3Jordyn Schumacher063e6b5cd9d78fa0c5456d90b29abfa4f185e97cFrank Fuetendee05431475b87c68ebf15bbea4bfeac11808e9eAstride Silis79b69046c55b5f6cbc0bffd051aa83b3482e29a8
12020-06-29T19:11:12+00:00Meteorites6plain2021-06-23T13:51:03+00:00This is a piece of a stony-iron meteorite, a pallasite. This sample is from a pallasite called Seymchan which was found in the Magadan district of Russia in June of 1967. The dark rock areas are iron-rich olivine called fayalite, while the metallic portions are a mixture of nickel and iron almost forming a pattern called widmanstatten.
Below is a sample that was purchased at a mineral shop in Germany. It was not certain it was a meteorite at first. It is reported to have been collected from Zagora, Morocco.
To learn more about it, it was cut and a polished thin section was made in Brock's petrographic laboratory for analysis. Below are photomicrographs of this sample, first in plane polarized light and then in cross-polarized light. (click them to expand) ...and here in cross-polarized light. The multi-coloured bands are an unusual form of olivine found in meteorites. Instead of growing in well-formed crystals, the molten olivine grew in elongate forms because material nucleated at the ends of chains faster than it could outward. This sample was confirmed to be a meteorite in this way.