El Tiro (meteorite)


0.06±0.05 wt%, n

-Ca pyroxene Fs
20.4±1.0
Wo 2.0±1.2, Fe/Mn=29±2, n=7

History

A gold prospector found a single stone showing weathering cracks, remnant fusion crust, and shallow regmaglypts close to the El Tiro settlement in Sonora, Mexico.
El Tiro is one of only nine confirmed meteorites from Sonora, Mexico and one of 109 confirmed meteorites from Mexico.
Aerolite Meteorites acquired and sold the main mass, while a mass, including a probe mount, is held at the University of New Mexico's Institute of Meteoritics.

Physical characteristics

A saw cut polished slices of the stone reveal densely packed chondrules of variable size set in a dark brown ground mass.
Such slices also demonstrate unequilibrated chondrules, as well as apparent mean diameter containing many with porphyritic, igneously zoned olivines and pyroxenes. Scattered, opaque, and fine-grained matrix is present. High-Ca pyroxenes were also observed, and only small amounts of very fine-grained plagioclase were observed.