Burnwell meteorite, Pike Co., Kentucky, USA
| Latitude & Longitude (WGS84): | 37° 37' 19'' North , 82° 14' 14'' West |
|---|---|
| Latitude & Longitude (decimal): | 37.62194,-82.23722 |
| GeoHash: | G#: dntw08uet |
| Locality type: | Meteorite Fall Location |
| Meteorite Class: | H4-an chondrite meteorite |
| Meteoritical Society Class: | H4-an |
| Metbull: | View entry in Meteoritical Bulletin Database |
| Köppen climate type: | Cfa : Humid subtropical climate |
Fell 4 Sept 1990
Ordinary Chondrite, high-iron (H4-an; S3)
1504 grams, single stone
The Burnwell stony meteorite fell with a whirring sound which was followed by a sharp impact as the stone penetrated a porch rooftop and its floor, frightening a nearby goat and horse. However, the meteorite itself, almost completely covered by a fusion crust, was not discovered until the next day. The meteorite turned out to be a nearly 'ordinary' H4 chondrite (mildly metamorphosed, relatively high in iron). Pyroxene, olivine, Fe-Ni metal with minor troilite predominate in the chondrules and groundmass. But Burnwell is only 'nearly' a standard H4 chondrite. The composition of various components of the meteorite — Olivine (Fa15.8), pyroxene (Fs13.4), Co abundance in Fe-Ni metal, and Oxygen isotopes — are just outside the range of all or almost all H Chondrites. Besides the various small chemical anomalies, Burnwell has a more reduced overall mineralogical assemblage than other H Chondrites. It has also experienced significant shock (S3 level) which also complicates any interpretation.
The presence of these small, but real differences in Burnside is part of the continuing problematics of meteorite classification. Are these small anomalies due to the fact that our H4 meteorite collection represents a biased sample of the H4 parent body or does Burnwell represent a fragment from another asteroid with a similar, but not identical composition?? There have been 361 witnessed falls of H chondrites as of early October 2014. Over 19,000 finds are also listed at the Meteoritical Society's Meteoritical Bulletin. [Many of the 19,000 finds are quite small, too small to properly categorize at this level of detail — but several thousand have been categorized and characterized.] At the present time only Burnwell and 3 or 4 other finds are clear outliers. At this point, personal taste comes into play — when doing science it is usually helpful to try to establish a record with as few hypothesis as possible — and so, it would clearly be simpler if the 'ordinary' chondrites were samples of — at most — 3 original parent bodies (OPB). We would like to believe that there was a single H-chondrite OPB, a single L-chondrite OPB and a single LL-chondrite OPB. Some have suggested that the L-chondrites and a single LL-chondrites come from a single OPB. Whether these preferred suppositions are actually true, however, is a different question. Burnwell may or may not come from another parent asteroid. In time, perhaps, more facts will be sufficient to resolve this particular issue to the satisfaction of the scientific community. Keep posted.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Strunz Dana Chemical ElementsMineral List
2 valid minerals.
Meteorite/Rock Types Recorded
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ 'Fayalite-Forsterite Series' Reference: Grossman, J.N. (1998). The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 82, 1998 July. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 33(4-Suppl.): A221-A239. (July 1998).; Russell, S. S., McCoy, T. J., Jarosewich, E. & Ash, R. D. (1998) The Burnwell, Kentucky, Low-FeO chondrite fall: Description, classification and origin. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 33 (4): 853-856. (July 1998). |
| ⓘ 'H4-an chondrite meteorite' Reference: Meteoritical Society Database |
| ⓘ Iron Formula: Fe Reference: Grossman, J.N. (1998). The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 82, 1998 July. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 33(4-Suppl.): A221-A239. (July 1998).; Russell, S. S., McCoy, T. J., Jarosewich, E. & Ash, R. D. (1998) The Burnwell, Kentucky, Low-FeO chondrite fall: Description, classification and origin. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 33 (4): 853-856. (July 1998). |
| ⓘ Iron var: Kamacite Formula: (Fe,Ni) Reference: Grossman, J.N. (1998). The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 82, 1998 July. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 33(4-Suppl.): A221-A239. (July 1998).; Russell, S. S., McCoy, T. J., Jarosewich, E. & Ash, R. D. (1998) The Burnwell, Kentucky, Low-FeO chondrite fall: Description, classification and origin. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 33 (4): 853-856. (July 1998). |
| ⓘ 'Meteoritic Iron' Description: Fe-Ni metal (~22 wt.%); Cited sources do not indicate whether any Fe-rich phases other than kamacite are present. Reference: Russell, S. S., McCoy, T. J., Jarosewich, E. & Ash, R. D. (1998) The Burnwell, Kentucky, Low-FeO chondrite fall: Description, classification and origin. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 33 (4): 853-856. (July 1998). |
| ⓘ 'Pyroxene Group' Description: Pyroxene (Fs13.4) Reference: Grossman, J.N. (1998). The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 82, 1998 July. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 33(4-Suppl.): A221-A239. (July 1998).; Russell, S. S., McCoy, T. J., Jarosewich, E. & Ash, R. D. (1998) The Burnwell, Kentucky, Low-FeO chondrite fall: Description, classification and origin. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 33 (4): 853-856. (July 1998). |
| ⓘ Troilite Formula: FeS Description: Troilite (~4.6%) Reference: Russell, S. S., McCoy, T. J., Jarosewich, E. & Ash, R. D. (1998) The Burnwell, Kentucky, Low-FeO chondrite fall: Description, classification and origin. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 33 (4): 853-856. (July 1998). |
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | 'Iron' | 1.AE.05 | Fe |
| ⓘ | var: Kamacite | 1.AE.05 | (Fe,Ni) |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Troilite | 2.CC.10 | FeS |
| Unclassified Minerals, Rocks, etc. | |||
| ⓘ | 'Fayalite-Forsterite Series' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'H4-an chondrite meteorite' | - | |
| ⓘ | Meteoritic Iron | - | |
| ⓘ | Pyroxene Group | - | |
List of minerals arranged by Dana 8th Edition classification
| Group 1 - NATIVE ELEMENTS AND ALLOYS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Metals, other than the Platinum Group | |||
| ⓘ | Iron var: Kamacite | 1.1.11.1 | (Fe,Ni) |
| Group 2 - SULFIDES | |||
| AmXp, with m:p = 1:1 | |||
| ⓘ | Troilite | 2.8.9.1 | FeS |
| Unclassified Minerals, Rocks, etc. | |||
| ⓘ | 'Fayalite-Forsterite Series' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'H4-an chondrite meteorite' | - | |
| ⓘ | Iron | - | Fe |
| ⓘ | 'Meteoritic Iron' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Pyroxene Group' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| S | Sulfur | |
|---|---|---|
| S | ⓘ Troilite | FeS |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Iron | Fe |
| Fe | ⓘ Iron (var: Kamacite) | (Fe,Ni) |
| Fe | ⓘ Troilite | FeS |
| Ni | Nickel | |
| Ni | ⓘ Iron (var: Kamacite) | (Fe,Ni) |
Regional Geology
This geological map and associated information on rock units at or nearby to the coordinates given for this locality is based on relatively small scale geological maps provided by various national Geological Surveys. This does not necessarily represent the complete geology at this locality but it gives a background for the region in which it is found.
Click on geological units on the map for more information. Click here to view full-screen map on Macrostrat.org
| Paleozoic 251.902 - 541 Ma ID: 3187973 | Paleozoic sedimentary rocks Age: Phanerozoic (251.902 - 541 Ma) Lithology: Sedimentary rocks Reference: Chorlton, L.B. Generalized geology of the world: bedrock domains and major faults in GIS format: a small-scale world geology map with an extended geological attribute database. doi: 10.4095/223767. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5529. [154] |
| Pennsylvanian 298.9 - 323.2 Ma ID: 2939515 | Breathitt Formation, middle part Age: Pennsylvanian (298.9 - 323.2 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Breathitt Formation Description: along and south of Pine Mountain; thickness is at least 350+ m; in east-central Kentucky, thickness is 0-195 m; in northeastern Kentucky, thickness is 35-135 m; in south-central Kentucky, thickness ranges from at least 80-85+ m Comments: Original map source: In 2002, the 1:500,000 scale geologic map (including a separate fault file) was digitized by the Kentucky Geological Survey and made available to the public through the website http://www.uky.edu/KGS/gis/kygeol.htm. In 2004 the USGS re-digitized the exi Lithology: Major:{sandstone,shale}, Minor:{siltstone,coal}, Incidental:{limestone} Reference: Horton, J.D., C.A. San Juan, and D.B. Stoeser. The State Geologic Map Compilation (SGMC) geodatabase of the conterminous United States. doi: 10.3133/ds1052. U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 1052. [133] |
| Middle Pennsylvanian 307 - 315.2 Ma ID: 1967999 | Four Corners Formation Age: Pennsylvanian (307 - 315.2 Ma) Stratigraphic Name: Four Corners Formation Description: unit includes Peach Orchard coal bed through Magoffin Beds Peach Orchard coal bed, upper part banded, lower 2 feet hard dull splint coal; found only on hilltops with 1 or 2 partings of bone or clay, locally multiple bedded; averages 80 inches in thickness; thins towards Dicks Knob where a drill hole shows only 18 inches of coal overlain by 25 feet of clayey siltstone. In Pond Creek area it is locally called the Winifrede. Correlative with Coalburg coal bed of Mingo County, West Virginia. \nSandstone, siltstone, clay shale, and coal: Sandstone, grades downward from fine to coarse-grained, slabby, jointed. Clay shale interlaminated with sandstone near middle of unit. Winifrede(?) coal bed is a zone of thin split coal beds interbedded with shale and siltstone containing abundant carbonized plant material; mapped as Winifrede in Williamson quadrangle (Alvord and Trent, 1962) but mapped as the Buffalo Creek coal bed in Mingo County, West Virginia (Hennen and Reger, 1914, p. 142). \nSandstone, siltstone, shale, and coal: Sandstone, medium-light-gray, fine- to medium-grained, poorly sorted; locally friable. Magoffin Beds of Morse (1931), medium-gray silty shale, 70 to 80 feet thick; contain abundant marine and brackish-water fossils in lower part and in thin black bituminous shale at base; discoidal silty limestone concretions near middle; locally grades vertically and laterally into dark- to medium-gray interlaminated clayey siltstone and fine grained sandstone containing indistinct bands and nodules of siderite. Equivalent to the Buffalo Creek Limestone of Hennen and Reger (1914) and probably equivalent to Winifrede Limestone of White (1908). Comments: Pfc; Matewan Quadrangle (GQ-373) | http://kgs.uky.edu/kgsweb/PubsSearching/MoreInfo.asp?titleInput=665 | Map description and column: http://kgs.uky.edu/kgsmap/kgsgeoserver/geolDescID.asp?idType=pointID&fmcode=324FRCR&gq_num=373&map_level=24K Lithology: Sandstone | siltstone | clay shale | coal Reference: KGS Databases, Maps, and Publications. Kentucky 1:24,000 Geologic Map. Kentucky Geological Survey. [22] |
Data and map coding provided by Macrostrat.org, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
References
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http://kgs.uky.edu/kgsweb/olops/pub/kgs/sp01_12.pdf
http://www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com/test/burnwell2.jpg
