Description
NWA 15658 — Polymict Eucrite Meteorite from Asteroid 4 Vesta
NWA 15658 is a certified HED polymict eucrite meteorite originating from the surface of minor planet 4 Vesta. Acquired from a Moroccan dealer in 2022, the main mass weighed 5.8 kilograms, making it one of the more substantial eucrite finds in recent years. When sliced and polished, it reveals large and variable basaltic clasts set within a dark shock-melt matrix displaying striking flow textures — a dramatic record of a violent impact billions of years ago on another world.
A Fragment of a Protoplanet
4 Vesta is the second-largest body in the asteroid belt, spanning roughly 326 miles wide. Like Earth, it has a differentiated interior — crust, mantle, and core — and may be the remnant of a destroyed planet. Eucrites are basaltic rocks ejected from Vesta's crust during asteroid collisions, composed primarily of calcium-poor pyroxene (pigeonite) and calcium-rich plagioclase (anorthite). Vesta is one of only a handful of solar system bodies from which humans have confirmed physical samples, placing NWA 15658 in extraordinarily rare company alongside Moon rocks and Martian meteorites. Eucrites formed as ancient lava flows approximately 4.5 billion years ago — before Earth's continents existed.
This is a substantial specimen, it is professionally presented in a custom display box with QR codes linking to NASA and the Meteoritical bulletin publications for further information.
Specimen Details
- Classification: HED Polymict Eucrite (Melt Breccia)
- Official Designation: NWA 15658
- Parent Body: Asteroid 4 Vesta
- Find Year: 2022
- Total Known Mass: ~5.8 kg
- Texture: Basaltic clasts in dark shock-melt matrix with flow structures
- Dimensions: Display box (8" L x 6" W) Meteorite (3.25" L x 1.87" W)
- Weight: 34.4 grams
- Type: Actual specimen - one only
