Missouri Reveals Large, Rare Pallasite Meteorite

Researchers at the Washington University in St. Louis are currently investigating the origins of a pallasite meteorite that was identified by space rock hunter Karl Aston back in 2009. The object belongs to an extremely rare category of meteorites, of which only 20 are known in the entire US.

This particular one tips the scales at 17 kilograms (37 pounds), and represents one of the largest ever recovered. Around the world, only 61 pallasite meteorite samples have ever been discovered. The reason why they are so important is because they are remnants of when the solar system was very young.

The University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) will house a sample from this meteorite, so that the Meteoritical Society can recognize its newly-proposed name, Conception Junction. The chemical analysis of the space rock was also carried at the UCLA, and also at WUSL.

Unfortunately, subsequent investigations conducted around the area where the pallasite meteorite was found revealed no other samples, which means that the rock may have not been a part of a larger body, as has been originally suggested, Universe Today reports.