• Type: Stony meteorite / ordinary chondrite LL6
• Location: Morocco
• Weight: 1.5g
• Dimensions: 17 x 13 x 2 mm
• Fall year: 2002
• Known total weight: 46 kg
• Surface treatment: cut, polished slice
• DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The Bensour meteorite – observed fall in Morocco The Bensour meteorite is an ordinary chondrite of type LL6 that fell in Morocco in 2002, near the Algerian border. The total mass recovered is estimated at over 45 kg, with the largest fragment weighing 9.2 kg. The fall of the Bensour meteorite was observed by several people who saw a luminous object in the sky, heard explosions, and noticed the fragments landing about 3 kilometers from their location. Appearance and structure The Bensour meteorite exhibits a typical dark fusion crust formed during its passage through the atmosphere. This crust is shiny, locally fractured, and sharply separates the light interior of the meteorite. Cut sections show a gray or light gray matrix with small mineral grains, mainly olivine and pyroxene, dispersed in a fine mass. The internal structure shows signs of thermal metamorphism: the rock has been transformed by high temperatures, a typical characteristic of LL6 chondrites. This means that the original spherical chondrules are partially or completely blurred and merged with the surrounding matrix. Some specimens also show small fractures partially filled with a whitish deposit known as caliche, a carbonate material that forms in arid environments where the meteorite remained for a long time after the fall. Overall, the meteorite has a finely brecciated, slightly fractured, and subsequently recemented structure, resulting from previous collisions in space. This texture, along with the low metal content and obvious metamorphic characteristics, perfectly matches the LL6 classification.