Genuine Aletai Meteorite Northern Xinjiang

Northern Xinjiang, China is home to one of the most remarkable meteorite fall sites on Earth the source of the Aletai meteorite, a fall that produced a strewn field stretching at least 430 kilometres, the largest ever recorded anywhere in the world. This genuine Aletai meteorite specimen comes directly from that extraordinary site.

The meteorite was known by several names as fragments were discovered across Northern Xinjiang over many decades Armanty, Ulasitai, and Xinjiang among them before scientists confirmed that all recovered masses were parts of a single ancient body. In 2016, the meteorite was formally named Aletai after the Altay Prefecture in Northern Xinjiang where the fragments were concentrated. Total recovered mass now exceeds 74 tonnes, making Aletai one of the most massive iron meteorite falls on record.

Classified as an anomalous IIIE iron meteorite a coarse octahedrite unlike any other known sample the Aletai meteorite is distinguished by its high cobalt, gold, and iridium content, a mineralogy rich in kamacite, taenite, plessite, and rare accessory minerals, and a Widmanstätten pattern distinct from all other IIIE irons. A genuine Aletai from Northern Xinjiang is one of the rarest and most scientifically significant meteorites a collector can own.

The Specimen Details

Meteorite Type: Anomalous IIIE Iron Meteorite (Coarse Octahedrite)

Composition: Kamacite, Taenite, Plessite; elevated Cobalt, Gold & Iridium

Accessory Minerals: Schreibersite, Troilite, Cohenite, Haxonite, Daubréelite

Strewn Field: 430+ km longest ever recorded on Earth

Total Recovered Mass: Exceeds 74 tonnes

Fall Location: Northern Xinjiang (Altay Prefecture), China

First Identified: 1898 (as Armanty); formally named Aletai in 2016

Specimen Size: 25mm x 24mm x 16mm

Weight: 29 gram

Own a genuine Aletai meteorite from Northern Xinjiang a fragment of China's most extraordinary cosmic legacy.