Nulles meteorite, Bell-lloc d'Urgell, Lleida, Catalonia, Spaini

Regional Level Types
Nulles meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Bell-lloc d'Urgell	Municipality
Lleida	Province
Catalonia	Autonomous Community
Spain	Country

Ordinary chondrite, brecciated (H6, br; S3; [W0])
Fell, 5 November 1851; 8.8 kg

After a fireball and detonations a large number of stones fell near the villages of Nulles, Vilabella, and Tarragona. Approximately 8.8 kg of a considerably larger original downfall were preserved and, in addition, some of this may have been subsequently lost. The meteorite is a regolith breccia with light-colored clasts within a dark, clastic matrix. The clasts are largely equilibrated [Olivine (Fa19); Pyroxene (Fs17.3Wo1.6); Plagioclase (An12); Fe-Ni metal]. However, the matrix (~40 vol%) contains more forsteritic olivines and large, dendritic Fe-Ni metal/troilite assemblages. Minor phases include expected phases such as chlorapatite and chromite. However, other phases are indicative of Nulles's idiosyncratic preterrestrial history. Cohenite is reported. Shocked clasts contain martensite and interstitial glass is present. Very small amounts of goethite and epidote present in some material is presumably due to mild post-impact weathering of some samples. Contrawise, the London Museum specimens are classified as virtually unweathered [W0] as would be expected if (1) the meteorite or fragments were recovered immediately after the fall and (2) curation procedures are both proper and uninterrupted.

Nulles is one of 94 witnessed meteorite falls classified exactly as an H6 chondrite. Two of these, Nulles and Guareña, were recovered in Spain [Meteoritical Bulletin Database, January 2016]. The main mass has been kept at the Spanish National Science Museum in Madrid (Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales) [4.3 kg in 2000].

Nota Bene: The Meteoritical Bulletin Data base currently lists a mass of 5 kg for Nulles [January 2016]. This may, in fact, be the amount of currently preserved Nulles material of known provenance. However, this listing is inconsistent with customary practice of listing the total observed mass as it first became known to the meteoritical community.

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References