Nerft meteorite, Nereta Parish, Aizkraukle Municipality, Zemgale Region, Latviai

Regional Level Types
Nerft meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Nereta Parish	Parish
Aizkraukle Municipality	Municipality
Zemgale Region	Region
Latvia	Country

Ordinary chondrite, veined (L6)
Fall, 12 April 1864;10.25 kg, 2 stones

After detonations, two stones fell ~700 meters apart. Nerft is characterized by dominant olivine (Fa23) and subequal pyroxene accompanied by accessory plagioclase, troilite, and Fe-Ni metal (~20% Ni). Inhomogeneities, veining, and small shock-melt inclusions of shock-melt suggest that other minor phases might await more extensive studies. Nerft's cosmic ray exposure age of ~39 Ma is similar to those of a number of other L6 chondrites. This possible coincidence has suggested to some observers that Nerft and other L6 chondrites were probably involved in a major collision ~40 million years ago.

Petrological type L6 chondrites represent the largest single petrological type of all meteorite falls, representing over 25% of all fully classified witnessed falls. Four meteorite falls have been recorded from Latvia — all of them ordinary chondrites which fell during the 19th Century. In another coincidence, Latvia's two L6 falls — Buschhof [F:1863] and Nerft fell less than a year apart.

At the beginning of the millennium, 5.2 kg were still held at the University of Tartu in Estonia and 1.5 kg at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Wiens.

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References