Beschreibung:

Blocky stone with primary and secondary crust, several fractures from impact and broken faces showing pristine interior. Some grass and soil still embedded from ground impact. Michael Famer feels that this is “truly the best meteorite chase of my 25 years of chasing meteorite falls, a massive CM2 fall in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Thousands of stones fell. I arrived on-site 36 hours after the fall and was able to acquire over 10 kilograms. Most have been traded, donated or purchased by scientific institutions. Aguas zarcas made worldwide news. This meteorite is still under intense scientific research to unlock its secrets. Most stones were recovered pristine." At 9:07 p.m. on April 23, 2019, a meteorite shower occurred in a rain forest in central Costa Rica. The fireball was caught on multiple cameras, including those perched on the summits of two volcanoes. Like Murchison (see lot 1), Aguas Zarcas meteorites are loaded with organic compounds. They are rich in carboxylic acids, sugar alcohols, aromatic hydrocarbons, and others. A total of 144 different scientific papers have already been written about Aguas Zarcas meteorites; many more are in the pipeline. The revelations provided by Aquas Zarcas thus far — providing a hint of what is to come — is perhaps best described by the title of a 13-page article in the preeminent publication in the study of meteorites, Meteoritics and Planetary Science. The article, published in July 2020 is entitled, “The Aguas Zarcas (CM2) Meteorite: New Insights Into Early Solar System Organic Chemistry”. Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue. 60 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm (21⁄3 x 2 x 2 in.) 162g.