Meteorite Henbury – Norther Territory, Australia

The Henbury meteorite and crater field were discovered in 1931. There are approximately 13 impact craters over an area of 1.25 km² formed by impacting Henbury meteorites in the desert area west to southwest of the town of Henbury in the Northern Territory, central Australia. The largest crater measures 217 metres in length and 111 metres in width and is approximately 15 metres deep. The other craters range in diameter from 7 to 180 metres. It was originally a single meteoroid, but it disintegrated under the enormous pressure exerted on it as it passed through the Earth's atmosphere at incredible speed.

This iron meteorite is classified as an (IIIAB) intermediate octahedrite. These meteorites are often very nicely sculpted, making this iron meteorite one of the most sought after meteorites for collections. The total amount found is approximately 2000 kg.

Composition

The Henbury meteorite has a high iron content, which is common in all iron meteorites. Nickel is present at approximately 8-10%, which is lower than some other iron meteorite groups and is characteristic of Group IIIAB. Cobalt is present in low abundance. Small amounts of copper and sulphides and oxides such as troilite and iron oxides may also be present.

Henbury exhibits typical Widmanstätten patterns, which consist of kamacite and taenite alloys that are formed by slow crystallization in the metal core.