SKU: 7226098972

Adrar 013 Lunar Meteorite Slice, Melt Breccia, 2.67g, Complete Section

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Description

Adrar 013 Lunar Meteorite Slice, Melt Breccia, 2.67g, Complete SectionComplete cross section preserving impact melt structure This 2. 67g slice captures the full width of Adrar 013, presenting an uninterrupted view from edge to edge through the specimen's impact generated matrix. The cross section format reveals how the once molten material cooled and solidified, preserving angular clasts of anorthositic norite and gabbro suspended within the fine grained melt matrix. Edge to edge continuity allows observation of

Complete cross-section preserving impact melt structure

This 2.67g slice captures the full width of Adrar 013, presenting an uninterrupted view from edge to edge through the specimen's impact-generated matrix. The cross-section format reveals how the once-molten material cooled and solidified, preserving angular clasts of anorthositic norite and gabbro suspended within the fine-grained melt matrix. Edge-to-edge continuity allows observation of textural variations across the entire specimen without interruption.

The slice's uniform thickness maintains consistent light transmission properties across its surface, making the contrast between darker mafic fragments and lighter anorthositic components readily visible. This geometric completeness distinguishes the piece from partial sections or end cuts, offering a representative sample of the internal structure throughout the meteorite's original mass.

Anorthositic clasts in impact melt matrix

The specimen displays the characteristic two-phase texture of lunar melt breccias: a fine-grained matrix formed from completely liquefied material surrounding angular fragments that remained partially solid during the impact event. The anorthositic components appear as lighter-toned regions, reflecting the plagioclase-rich composition of the Moon's ancient highland crust. Darker clasts represent the norite and gabbro components, indicating excavation from deeper crustal layers where pyroxene concentrations increase.

Clast boundaries remain sharp and well-defined, showing minimal reaction between fragments and matrix during cooling. This preservation indicates rapid solidification following the impact that generated the melt, consistent with ejection into the lunar vacuum where radiative cooling proceeds efficiently. The distribution of clast sizes and orientations records the turbulent mixing that occurred while the material remained molten.

Scientific context

Adrar 013 originated in the Moon's highland regions, where anorthositic rocks formed during the cooling of a primordial magma ocean approximately 4.4 billion years ago. The presence of norite and gabbro alongside anorthosite indicates the impact that created this melt breccia excavated through multiple stratigraphic layers, mixing ancient crustal material with younger intrusive rocks. This compositional mixing provides evidence for the Moon's differentiated internal structure.

Lunar meteorites reach Earth only after impact events deliver sufficient energy to accelerate fragments beyond the Moon's escape velocity of 2.4 km/s. The specimen's recovery in Algeria in 2023 adds to the limited sample of lunar material available outside government collections. Understanding lunar geology through meteorites complements spacecraft sample returns and provides context for planetary formation processes throughout the inner solar system.

Frequently asked questions

Is this meteorite authenticated? Yes. The Meteoritical Society classified Adrar 013 as a lunar melt breccia with anorthositic norite/gabbro composition. You can verify this classification in the Meteoritical Bulletin database. The specimen includes a certificate of authenticity documenting its classification and provenance.

What is a melt breccia? A melt breccia forms when hypervelocity impacts generate sufficient heat to partially or completely melt target rocks, which then cool rapidly while mixed with solid fragments. The resulting rock contains both crystallized melt matrix and angular clasts of material that remained solid during the impact event.

What does the anorthositic composition indicate? Anorthosite dominates the Moon's ancient highland crust, forming the bright regions visible from Earth. The anorthositic composition in this specimen confirms its origin from highland terrain rather than the darker, basalt-rich maria that cover portions of the lunar surface.

What is included with this specimen? The 2.67g slice ships with a certificate of authenticity. No display stand is included.

How did this material travel from the Moon to Earth? A meteoroid impact on the lunar surface ejected fragments at velocities exceeding 2.4 km/s, allowing them to escape the Moon's gravitational field. These fragments orbited the Sun until gravitational interactions with Earth captured them, resulting in their atmospheric entry and recovery in Algeria.

Collector significance

Lunar meteorites represent the only Moon rocks legally available to private collectors, as Apollo samples and robotic return missions remain in government custody. The 2.67g mass provides substantial material for study while remaining accessible to collectors building representative planetary specimen sets. The complete slice format maximizes observable surface area relative to weight, allowing detailed examination of the impact melt texture and clast distribution.

Adrar 013's recent classification in 2023 places it among the newest additions to the lunar meteorite inventory. The anorthositic composition links the specimen directly to the Moon's primordial crust, offering a tangible connection to the earliest stages of lunar differentiation. Collectors seeking scientifically significant material from the Moon's surface will find this specimen represents both the highland crust and the impact processes that have shaped lunar geology for billions of years. Browse additional specimens from Earth's celestial neighbor in the Lunar Meteorites collection.

Meteoritical Bulletin entry: Adrar 013 | Classification: Lunar melt breccia (anorthositic norite/gabbro) | Find, Algeria, 2023

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SKU: 7226098972

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Jason
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 5
Incredible & Absolutely Fascinating
Format: Paperback
This book is incredible. Very well researched and balanced in approach. It is the best book I've ever read on the early church and the most inspiring book I've read on how the church can be powerful without seeking worldly power. I would highly recommend this to every pastor and serious Christian. I wouldn't advocate for adopting everything the early church did (Kreider doesn't either), but there is so much to learn. Especially the church in the West, and specifically in America, where Christian nationalism is on the rise. This book could not be more timely or important in helping people understand the relationship between the church and government, and why discipleship that actually changes the habits, values, and lives of Christians must become the hallmark of the church again.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2026
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Jeffrey P. Wright
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 5
So much I never realized about the shaping of the early Church
Format: Paperback
This is one of the best books I've read. Really well researched. It is interesting in its empahsize on the virtue of patience from the perspective of the early church as it was shaped and formed into what we recognize as The Church.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2024
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D. Hesselbarth
Birmingham, US
★★★★★ 5
Profoundly challenging; I'm going back to this over and over
Format: Paperback
The remarkable growth of the early church has puzzled and challenged scholars. How did a tiny sect that attracted mainly the poor and unimportant and faced waves of persecution grow? How did they sustain their vigor and their distinctiveness such that well into the third century they were still well known for their non violence and care of the poor and downtrodden? Why did the church make baptism and membership so difficult? I've never found satisfactory answers. Kreider's exhaustively researched book did more than answer those questions. It stirred and challenged my thinking about how to "do church." He argues, with compelling evidence, that a central conviction by the early Christians had much to do with their sustained vitality. They centered on the teachings of Jesus, in particular the sermon on the mount. They actually believed they were to live in obedience to the upside down Way of Jesus. It was this distinctive and intriguing lifestyle - Kreider uses the term "habitus" or their habitual behavior - that the church insisted upon and that attracted others. They patiently lived in community, expecting that over time, the impact of the light of their lives would "bubble up" or ferment in the lives of their neighbors. So, rather than emphasize evangelism, the early Christians emphasized catechesis - careful formation and teaching. Only after a lengthy period of time - up to three years! - during which the prospective member was mentored and drilled in the life of Christ, was the person allowed to be baptized and take the Lord's Supper. They had to demonstrate, prove, that they were indeed genuinely living the life of Christ. Caring for the poor, sharing their resources, returning good for evil, turning the other cheek - those things had to be demonstrably evident. Kreider ends by contrasting this patient habitus with the changing focus after Constantine. His examination of Augustine's redefinition of faithful Christian living that provided a way for Christians to both claim allegiance to Jesus' teachings yet use force and violence was both incisive and deeply saddening. These days, most followers of Jesus do a better job of rationalizing why they can't take the Sermon on the Mount as more than platitudes. This book further challenges me, and I hope, the church at large, to actually live like Jesus! What a novel idea. There are just a handful of books that have deeply influenced me, books that I find myself returning to again and again. The Patient Ferment is one of those books now. I hope this book becomes widely read, and even more, widely influential. May it disturb our comfort...
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Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2017
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Gabriel Snyman
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 4
Insightful, balanced and thoroughly researched
Format: Kindle
I was a bit afraid that this book would somehow a attribute of the early church, postulate it as a silver bullet and then suggest it simplictically as the only solution for the modern day church. Instead I got a well balanced, finely nuanced and engagingly told narrative of the early church and the role patience was practiced, neglected and rethought by various Christian groups and bishops. The book end with an adequate invitation to think the concepts through for our own time.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2018
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Jeff O
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 5
Excellent
Format: Paperback
I might be as bold to say this is my favorite book on Christianity I have read to date.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2025

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