Jonzac meteorite, Saint-Simon-de-Bordes, Jonzac, Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Francei

Regional Level Types
Jonzac meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Saint-Simon-de-Bordes	Commune
Jonzac	Arrondissement
Charente-Maritime	Department
Nouvelle-Aquitaine	Region
France	Country

Fall, 13 Jun 1819; 5 kg
Eucrite, monomict

Soon after sunrise a fireball was seen, detonations were heard, and a shower of stones were said to have fallen with 2 stones (3 kg & 2 kg) being recovered for study. Today, Juvinas is recognized as the second of 34 witnessed eucrite falls. Like most eucrites, Juvinas is compositionally dominated by brecciated intergrowths of pyroxene (mostly pigeonite) and variable, somewhat anorthitic plagioclase. Other phases appear to be quite minor as they receive only tangential mention in most references cited here. Minor zircon has received special attention, however, as it appears to provide the most reliable indicator of the original formation epoch of the Juvinas mineralogical assemblages ~4.55 billion years ago (Pb-Pb dating).

Less than 1.5 kg of the original ~5 kg remains in scientific repositories, but enough material is extant to be used in occasional geochemical and chronological studies. After original formation of the Juvinas parent body, Pu-Xe, Lu-Hf, & Pb-Pb ages all suggest that important metamorphic disturbance -- probably impact(s) — occurred ~ 300 million years later. (Cf. Dietderich, et al., 2013). This chronology is consistent with similar ages contributing to an emerging consensus within the planetary science community that most Eucrites (and related Howardites and Diogenites) are fragments of the asteroid Vesta.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References