Description

 The Aletai meteorite, previously also known as the Armanty meteorite or Xinjiang meteorite, is one of the largest known iron meteorites, classified as a course octahedrite in chemical group IIIE-an. The Aletai meteorite began as a massive meteor–estimated up to 100 tons–that broke up upon entry into earth’s atmosphere, depositing meteorite fragments as massive as 28 tons across China. The strewn field was approximately 500 kilometers long. The shower of meteorite fragments were spread out over such a large area that specimens were given a variety of different names, primarily names of cities they were found near. It wasn’t until studies determined that they all originated from the same event that they were either renamed or considered synonymous with Aletai. Composed of iron and nickel, it displays distinctive Widmanstatten patterns when etched, a result of slow cooling in space.

Aletai meteorite pendant. Each pendant measures roughly 12mm x 21mm.