Seymchan Meteorite Sphere

A GORGEOUS SEYMCHAN PALLASITE IN THE SHAPE OF A SPHERE

Exceedingly rare, pallasites are widely considered the most beautiful extraterrestial substance known. Less than 0.2% of all meteorites are pallasites — and transitional pallasites (see below) represent a much smaller fraction still. Like the vast majority of pallasitic meteorites, Seymchan originated from the mantle-core boundary of an asteroid that broke apart during the early history of our solar system. Following pinball-like impacts, a large mass was serendipitously bumped into an Earth-crossing orbit. Having arrived on Earth thousands of years ago, specimens of the Seymchan meteorite were first discovered in 1967 near the settlement of Seymchan in the Magadan District of Russia's subarctic Far East region.

The crystals seen in this sizeable Seymchan sphere are the result of small pieces of the asteroid's stony mantle becoming suspended in the molten metal of its iron-nickel core before crystallizing. The silicate crystals of gleaming olivine and peridot (gem-quality olivine) range in hue from dark emerald to fiery amber. When the crystals are not homogeneously scattered in the matrix of a meteorite and present in unique arrays, this is referred to as a transitional pallasite, and is the uncommon result of its mantle-core constituents not having thoroughly mixed before cooling. This specimen was derived from a Seymchan meteorite that underwent a number of stages of cutting, grinding, and polishing in a sphere-making apparatus, resulting in a stunning and dramatic metallic and crystal ball from outer space.