Louisville meteorite, Louisville, Jefferson Co., Kentucky, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Louisville meteorite | Meteorite Fall Location |
| Louisville | - not defined - |
| Jefferson Co. | County |
| Kentucky | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
38° 15' North , 85° 45' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Locality type:
Meteorite Class:
Meteoritical Society Class:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Louisville | 243,639 (2017) | 0.9km |
| Jeffersonville | 46,960 (2017) | 3.3km |
| Parkway Village | 665 (2017) | 4.2km |
| Clarksville | 21,866 (2017) | 5.3km |
| Audubon Park | 1,508 (2017) | 5.6km |
Nearest Clubs:
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Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
| Club | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| KYANA Geological Society | Louisville, Kentucky | 1km |
Ordinary Chondrite, low-iron (L6)
Fell 31 Jan 1977; 1.3 kg, 4 stones
In mid afternoon a bright fireball appeared, accompanied by sonic booms and, soon thereafter, four meteoritic stones were recovered in the city of Louisville. While most of the witnesses were relatively nearby, the East to West traveling fireball had been observed from as far away as the Kentucky-Tennessee border. Under its fusion crust the primary constituents were silicates (esp. olivine), Fe-Ni metal (~20%), and minor troilite. The meteorite had also experienced significant terrestrial shock. In addition to olivine [Fa25], silicates included orthopyroxene and plagioclase (bytownite), recrystallized maskelynite, and trace amounts of augite. Minor amounts of chromite and apatite were also detected.
Cosmic ray exposure ages of 20-40 million years presumably record a preterrestrial impact which dislodged the earth-impacting meteoroid from within a larger meteoroid and exposed it to solar and galactic cosmic rays. Ar40/Ar39 ages suggest that a major impact occurred ~500 million years when the Louisville meteorite's parent body or a large fragment of that parent body suffered a catastrophic disruption.
The Louisville meteorite is one of 6 observed meteorite falls recovered from Kentucky. All witnessed falls were chondrites — including 4 ordinary chondrites.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
3 valid minerals.
Meteorite/Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ 'Apatite' Formula: Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) Reference: Basu, A., Shaffer, N. R. & Hunt, G. (1980) Petrography of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 15 (4):262-263. ( Dec 1980) |
| ⓘ Augite Formula: (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 Reference: Basu, A., Shaffer, N. R. & Hunt, G. (1980) Petrography of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 15 (4):262-263. ( Dec 1980) |
| ⓘ Chromite Formula: Fe2+Cr3+2O4 Reference: Basu, A., Shaffer, N. R. & Hunt, G. (1980) Petrography of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 15 (4):262-263. ( Dec 1980) |
| ⓘ 'Fayalite-Forsterite Series' Reference: Hunt, G. (1977) Louisville Meteorite: Ordinary Chondrite L6 with Shock Metamorphic Textures. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 9, p.506. (Sept 1977) ; Ouseph, P. J., Groskreutz, H. E. & Johnson, A. A. (1978) A Mossbauer Analysis of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 13(2): page 189. (June 1978); Basu, A., Shaffer, N. R. & Hunt, G. (1980) Petrography of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 15 (4):262-263. ( Dec 1980) |
| ⓘ 'Hypersthene' Formula: (Mg,Fe)SiO3 Reference: Hunt, G. (1977) Louisville Meteorite: Ordinary Chondrite L6 with Shock Metamorphic Textures. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 9, p.506. (Sept 1977) |
| ⓘ 'Maskelynite' Description: Maskelynite (plagioclase- or feldspar-rich glass) is described as 'recrystallized'. [The extent of recrystallization not specified] Reference: Basu, A., Shaffer, N. R. & Hunt, G. (1980) Petrography of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 15 (4):262-263. ( Dec 1980) |
| ⓘ 'Meteoritic Iron' Reference: Hunt, G. (1977) Louisville Meteorite: Ordinary Chondrite L6 with Shock Metamorphic Textures. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 9, p.506. (Sept 1977) |
| ⓘ 'Plagioclase' Formula: (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 Description: Plagioclase composition (Ab11An83Or6) is that of Bytownite, but is more K-rich than usual in meteorites. Reference: Basu, A., Shaffer, N. R. & Hunt, G. (1980) Petrography of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 15 (4):262-263. ( Dec 1980) |
| ⓘ 'Pyroxene Group' Formula: ADSi2O6 Reference: Ouseph, P. J., Groskreutz, H. E. & Johnson, A. A. (1978) A Mossbauer Analysis of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 13(2): page 189. (June 1978); Basu, A., Shaffer, N. R. & Hunt, G. (1980) Petrography of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 15 (4):262-263. ( Dec 1980) |
| ⓘ Troilite Formula: FeS Reference: Ouseph, P. J., Groskreutz, H. E. & Johnson, A. A. (1978) A Mossbauer Analysis of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 13(2): page 189. (June 1978); Basu, A., Shaffer, N. R. & Hunt, G. (1980) Petrography of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 15 (4):262-263. ( Dec 1980) |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Troilite | 2.CC.10 | FeS |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Chromite | 4.BB.05 | Fe2+Cr3+2O4 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Augite | 9.DA.15 | (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| Unclassified Minerals, Rocks, etc. | |||
| ⓘ | 'Apatite' | - | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| ⓘ | 'Fayalite-Forsterite Series' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Hypersthene' | - | (Mg,Fe)SiO3 |
| ⓘ | 'Maskelynite' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Meteoritic Iron' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Plagioclase' | - | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| ⓘ | 'Pyroxene Group' | - | ADSi2O6 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Hypersthene | (Mg,Fe)SiO3 |
| O | ⓘ Pyroxene Group | ADSi2O6 |
| O | ⓘ Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| O | ⓘ Augite | (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| O | ⓘ Chromite | Fe2+Cr23+O4 |
| O | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | ⓘ Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Hypersthene | (Mg,Fe)SiO3 |
| Mg | ⓘ Augite | (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Hypersthene | (Mg,Fe)SiO3 |
| Si | ⓘ Pyroxene Group | ADSi2O6 |
| Si | ⓘ Augite | (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| Si | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| P | Phosphorus | |
| P | ⓘ Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Troilite | FeS |
| Cl | Chlorine | |
| Cl | ⓘ Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| Ca | ⓘ Augite | (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| Ca | ⓘ Plagioclase | (Na,Ca)[(Si,Al)AlSi2]O8 |
| Cr | Chromium | |
| Cr | ⓘ Chromite | Fe2+Cr23+O4 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Hypersthene | (Mg,Fe)SiO3 |
| Fe | ⓘ Troilite | FeS |
| Fe | ⓘ Augite | (CaxMgyFez)(Mgy1Fez1)Si2O6 |
| Fe | ⓘ Chromite | Fe2+Cr23+O4 |
References
Sort by
Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A)Hunt, G. (1977) Louisville Meteorite: Ordinary Chondrite L6 with Shock Metamorphic Textures. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 9, p.506. (Sept 1977)
Ouseph, P. J., Groskreutz, H. E. & Johnson, A. A. (1978) A Mossbauer Analysis of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 13(2): page 189. (June 1978)
Bogaard, D. D. & Hirsch, W.C. (1980) Ar-40/Ar-39 dating, AR diffusion properties, and cooling rate determinations of severely shocked chondrites: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 44: 1667-1682. (Nov. 1980)
Basu, A., Shaffer, N. R. & Hunt, G. (1980) Petrography of the Louisville Meteorite: Meteoritics 15 (4):262-263. ( Dec 1980)
Grady, M. M. (2000) Catalogue of Meteorites (5/e). Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, London, New York, Oakleigh, Madrid. 689 pages.
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