Dear List,
The South African meteorite that struck a tree near a young girl has been
finally classified.
Nqweba
Basic information Name: Nqweba
This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name.
Abbreviation: There is no official abbreviation for this meteorite.
Observed fall: Yes, confirmed fall
Year fell: 2024
Country: South Africa
Mass:help 530 g
Classification
history:
Recommended: Howardite [explanation]
This is 1 of 476 approved meteorites classified as Howardite. [show all]
Search for other: Achondrites, HED achondrites, and Howardites
Comments: Approved 13 Sep 2025
Writeuphelp
Writeup from MB 114:
Nqweba 33°23.74'S, 25°20.51'E
Eastern Cape, South Africa
Confirmed fall: 2024 Aug 25
Classification: HED achondrite (Howardite)
History: A fireball travelling in an ENE direction was widely observed over
southern South Africa at 08:51 local time (06:51 UTC) on Sunday 25 Aug 2024.
This was followed by a sonic boom and ground vibration several ' later.
Nine-year-old Eli-zé du Toit was sitting with her mother and step-grandmother
on the outside porch of her grandparents' house west of the town of Nqweba
(formerly Kirkwood) when they heard the sonic boom. Shortly thereafter, she
heard a rustling in the large Wild Fig tree in the garden ~20 m north of her
location. As she turned towards it, she observed a small object fall to the
ground beneath the tree. She immediately walked over and saw a small stone with
a shiny black crust but with one side broken open to reveal a light gray,
clast-bearing interior. When she picked up the stone, she noted that the
interior felt icy cold whereas the sides with the crust were warm. This warmth
disappeared by the time she returned with the sample to the porch. After some
discussion, she and her mother, Jesica Botha, searched in the grass under the
tree and found 5 additional small chips with the same features. Jesica posted
photos of the fragments on The Snow Report Southern Africa website at midday,
asking for confirmation that it was a meteorite. After seeing the post, Dr
Carla Dodd contacted them and arranged for the samples to be delivered to the
Department of Geosciences at Nelson Mandela University (NMU) in Gqeberha
(formerly Port Elizabeth) on the evening of 26 Aug. The samples were
immediately photographed and weighed, then wrapped in aluminum foil, sealed in
plastic bags, and stored in a desiccator jar. A collaborative science team from
Rhodes-, Nelson Mandela-, and Witwatersrand- universities under a collection
permit issued by the Eastern Cape Provincial Heritage Resources Authority,
began a field search for more stones within 10 days. The additional stones were
all found within 20 days of the fall. All stones were found in an area of 4 km2.
Physical characteristics: 15 pieces, total mass 530 g. All contain some degree
of vitreous blue-black fusion crust (7 pieces are covered 90-100%). Surfaces
without fusion crust, which probably broke on impact and/or fragmented during
terminal flight, expose a brecciated texture with polymineralic
(ophitic/subophitic and granular) and monomineralic fragments (green, black,
and white) of ≤5 mm, set in a fine-grained white-gray matrix (~70%). The type
specimen weighs 63.1 g and five smaller fragments (12.6, 4.7, 4.0, 2.4, and 1.0
g) broke away from it on impact. Nine additional stones weigh 42.9, 22.2,
134.1, 35.6, 9.7, 47.0, 63.1, 67.5, and 20.2 g.
Petrography: (D. van Niekerk, Rhodes Univ.; R. Gibson & L. Vonopartis, & L.D.
Ashwal, Univ. of Witwatersrand; N. Tonnelier & C. Dodd, Nelson Mandela Univ.).
Four epoxy plugs and two thin sections of the 5 fragments associated with the
type specimen, studied optically and by x-ray mapping, confirm the meteorite is
a fragmental polymict breccia. The meteorite is primarily composed of pyroxenes
(78 vol%), plagioclase (12 vol%), olivine (6 vol%), and minor ilmenite,
chromite, silica, troilite, Fe-Ni metal, and phosphate (<4 vol%). Most
pyroxenes appear to be low-Ca pyroxene that often contains exsolutions of
augite. The breccia matrix dominantly consists of low-Ca pyroxene, olivine, and
plagioclase (<100s μm), while the larger clasts (<5 mm) are predominantly
low-Ca pyroxene fragments plus lesser fragments of plagioclase or olivine. Some
of the smaller pyroxene clasts contain veins of olivine. Ophitic to subophitic
(basaltic) plagioclase-pyroxene clasts are present. The distribution of clast
sizes are heterogeneous, with some sections dominated by uniform mixing while
others contain distinct finer- versus coarser-grained domains. Shock features
include partially melted clasts, impact melt clasts/pockets with pilotaxitic
texture of resorbed grains in a fine-grained to glassy matrix. Rare Fe-Ni metal
is intergrown with subhedral-to-rounded silicate crystals. Unmelted clasts show
variable ° of shock (very weak to moderate) in pyroxene and plagioclase,
including undulose extinction, irregular fractures, but with an absence of
maskelynite.
Geochemistry: Mineral composition: EPMA: (D. Van Niekerk, Rhodes Univ.; L.D.
Ashwal, Wits): Pyroxene average Fe/Mn=29.6±2.7 (21.5-36.2; N=82). Pyx in
basaltic clasts Fs23.9-57.9En29.1-73.3Wo2.0-43.2. Pyx ~En<66
Fs19.9-58.1En7.2-65.7Wo3.0-38.9. Pyx ~En>66 Fs15.5-30.0En66.4-82.7Wo1.6-5.2.
Olivine Fa34.3±7.9 (Fa25.2-45.6; N=43). Pyx average including lamellae
Fs34.3±12.2Wo10.5±12.3, range Fs15.6-61.0Wo1.6-43.2 (N=81) . CT SCAN: (E. Ferg,
Nelson Mandela Univ.): average density of six fragments is 2.93 g/cm3.
Classification: Howardite (HED Achondrite). X-ray maps coupled with EPMA show
that the proportions of eucrite and diogenite components (e.g., pyroxene clasts
~En<66 versus En>66, and basaltic clasts), are greater than 10 vol% each.
Olivine Fo<60 occurs in matrix as small grains; Fo>60 as larger clasts.
Specimens: Type specimen is Sample 1-1 (63.1 g) with 1 thin section held at
Wits. Main mass: Rhodes Univ., Nelson Mandela Univ., Univ. of Witwatersrand,
Albany Museum.
Data from:
MB114
Table 0
Line 0:
State/Prov/County: Eastern Cape
Date: 2024 Aug 25
Latitude: 33°23.74'S
Longitude: 25°20.51'E
Mass (g): 530
Pieces: 15
Class: Howardite
Shock stage: moderate
Fayalite (mol%): 34.3±7.9 (N=43)
Ferrosilite (mol%): 34.3±12.2 (N=81, including exsolution)
Wollastonite (mol%): 10.5±12.3 (N=81, including exsolution)
Classifier: D. van Niekerk (Rhodes Univ.), L.D. Ashwal, L. Vonopartis, R.
Gibson (Univ. of Witwatersrand)
Type spec mass (g): 63.1
Type spec location: Wits
Main mass: Rhodes Univ., Nelson Mandela Univ., Univ. of Witwatersrand,
Albany Museum.
Finder: E. du Toit and J. Botha. Additional stones: Search Team (R. Gibson, D.
Van Niekerk, N. Tonnelier, B. Linol, E. Ferg, L. Vonopartis, C. Dodd, S. Musa,
V. Agbakoba, S. Johnstone, C. Anderson, M. O'Keefe, W. Deysel, R. Kibble, N.
Dubber, L. Mrwetyana, M. Ngalo, H. Nyembe, S. Ngongo, V. Vilane, J. du Preez,
T. van den Heever, W. Deysel, R. Erasmus)
Comments: Submitted by D. van Niekerk
Institutions
and collections Wits: Curator of Fossil and Rock Collections c/o
Evolutionary Studies Institute University of the Witwatersrand Private Bag 3
WITS 2050 Johannesburg South Africa, South Africa (institutional address;
updated 2019-05-03)
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