Vaca Muerta Mesosiderite A-1 Meteorite

Vaca Muerta Mesosiderite A-1 Meteorite

This meteorite was found in Chile's Atacama Desert, in a region known as Vaca Muerta - Spanish for 'dead cow'. Since the first meteorite discovery in the area in 1861, over three tonnes of material has been recovered by meteorite hunters.

Prospectors looking for precious metals in the Atacama Desert first unearthed meteorites in the area in the nineteenth century, mistakenly thinking they had found silver ore. Later study revealed that they had in fact discovered stony-iron meteorites, known as mesosiderites.

Mesosiderites are believed to have formed from the debris of a collision between two asteroids. The result of the collision sees molten metal and silicate rock mix together, eventually forming a meteorite that is around 50 percent metal. This particular Vaca Muerta meteorite has been cut open and polished to reveal this mix of material inside, with metallic inclusions running throughout the rocky silicate material.