BRENHAM, KANSAS. (a rare iron example)

Brenham meteorites are usually pallasites. Pallasites are extremely beautiful meteorites characterized by having varying amounts of iron-nickel, and olivine. Upon cutting the mix of silver and lovely green olivine crystals are awesome to behold. However, there are rare examples of solid irons coming from sites that normally have pallasites.

The following pictures are of a solid iron Brenham meteorite weighing about 11.5 lbs that was found by Mr. Ross of Brenham, KS in 1985. It was purchased by the American Meteorite Survey the following year and later sectioned into two halves. One resides in the UCLA meteorite collection and the other half, the one pictured, is retained by the American Meteorite Survey.

Iron meteorite from Brenham, KS, showing its typical rusty surface. When this meteorite was found after plowing, the finder, Mr. Ross, said that it was covered with rust scales that peeled away like onion skin. This is consistent with an iron meteorite that has been on or in the ground for many thousands of years. Often iron meteorites are found with large amounts of rust encasing them. The length of this specimen is 19 cm, and the weight of this is 5.25 lbs.

View of the Brenham iron's cut face. Notice the beautiful Widmanstatten pattern that is typical of most iron meteorites. This pattern varies from very fine to very coarse, and is often used to determine the octahedral type of iron meteorite.

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