Complete Slice of Brahin Pallasite Meteorite

Brahin pallasites were first discovered in what is now Belarus in 1810. Extremely rare, pallasites represent only 0.2% of all meteorites. Their rarity is due to having originated from asteroid’s mantle/core boundary. The term “pallasite” is in honor of the German scientist, Peter Pallas, who in 1749 discovered the first pallasitic mass in Siberia. 

Both sides of this polished slice of Brahin meteorite reveal a mosaic of sparkling olivine (magnesium iron silicate) crystals from the asteroid’s mantle, suspended in gleaming iron-nickel matrix originating from the asteroid’s core.

 The search for additional specimens from the Brahin event is now constrained as the Chernobyl nuclear reactor was built extremely close to Brahin’s impact zone and the strewn field is off limits. Recovered long before the Chernobyl disaster, this choice example reveals the captivating interior of a pallasite, a most beautiful and alluring extraterrestrial substance.