Bencubbin meteorite

Collection Highlights | Updated 10 years ago

During the 48 year period between 1912-1960, a number of important meteorites were recovered in Western Australia, some of which were deposited at the Western Australian Museum.

The most important of these was Bencubbin. The first mass (54.2 kg) of Bencubbin was discovered in 1930 during ploughing. A second, larger mass (64.6 kg) was found in 1959, and a third mass (15.76 kg) was found in 1974. Bencubbin has subsequently proved to be an extreme rarity and have significant scientific importance. Originally classified as a ‘stony-iron’, today it is recognised as the type specimen of a new group of carbonaceous chondrites (CB), or ‘Bencubbinites’.

Bencubbin is a breccia (a rock formed of angular fragments cemented by a finer material) enclosing clasts of material from other chondritic groups, and the meteorite remains the subject of extensive ongoing research.
 

Meteorite Collection