Buseck Center for Meteorite Studies

Parnallee is an ordinary (LL3.6) chondrite that fell February 28th, 1857, in Tamil Nadu, India. Parnallee is a low-iron, low metal (LL) chondrite exhibiting abundant chondrules, un-equilibrated mineral assemblages, and a low degree of aqueous alteration. Over 77 kilograms of the Parnallee meteorite have been recovered to date.  The overwhelming majority of meteorites recovered in…

Alais is a carbonaceous chondrite that fell in southern France in 1806. Alais was the first recognized carbonaceous chondrite, and occurred just 3 years after the historic fall at L’Aigle convinced the scientific community that meteorites could, indeed, fall to Earth. On the late afternoon of March 15, 1806, residents of the rural communities of…

It is with great sadness that we bid a final farewell to Center founding director Professor Carleton B. Moore, who passed away February 10th. Carleton moved to ASU in 1961 at the request of George Fales (longtime meteorite enthusiast, ASU benefactor, and Center philanthropist) to head the newly formed Center for Meteorite Studies. Over the…

A new paper by Center alumna Dr. Alice Stephant, co-authored with Center Research Scientist Dr. Jemma Davidson, reports the identification of a new group of primitive achondrite meteorites, the tissemouminites. The work redefines the petrological, mineralogical, and geochemical classification criteria for primitive achondrites through investigation of a group of eight meteorites with similarities to acapulcoites…

The Buseck Center for Meteorite Studies and School of Earth and Space Exploration are pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Nininger Student Travel Award. The goal of this award is to support attendance of the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) for at least 4 undergraduate and/or graduate students to present their…