Meteorite Trove of 1800 Specimens in Yale's Peabody Museum Has Otherworldly Gem-Studded Iron-Nickel Alloy

A collection of 1800 meteorite specimens has been acquired by Yale's Peabody Museum, including a gem-studded iron-nickel alloy.

Otherworldly Gem-Studded Meteorite

The specimen's gleaming iron-nickel alloy is encrusted with olivine crystals, also known as peridots to jewelers. The yellow gems sparkle brilliantly when held up to light.

The specimen was taken from a meteorite found in 1967 in a barren riverbed close to Seymchan in far eastern Russia. It was housed by Stefan Nicolescu, the Peabody Museum's collections manager for mineralogy and meteoritics.

The specimen, known as a pallasite, recently arrived at the Peabody along with a collection of more than 1,800 other meteorite specimens that were given to Yale by the Planetary Studies Foundation (PSF), a US nonprofit with a research focus on meteorites.

The president and CEO of PSF, Paul Sipiera, made a separate donation of the piece of pallasite, which is arguably the collection's most eye-catching specimen. The Peabody Museum's collection of roughly 3,600 meteorites now ranks among the largest and most scientifically significant in the world. This is thanks to the most recent acquisitions, a 2017 donation that included approximately 1,300 meteorites from PSF which previously belonged to James M. DuPont, a late noted collector.

Rare lunar and martian meteorites, specimens gathered by NASA astronauts during Antarctic trips, and objects containing extraterrestrial biological material, which may shed light on the origins of life, are among the new acquisitions.

Even a small piece of a Park Forest, Illinois, home's roof that was removed has a hole where a meteorite the size of a softball struck it in March 2003.

Although PSF is a leader in meteorite research, Sipiera, a planetary geologist who formed the group with colleagues in 1989 while he was a professor at Harper College in Illinois, warned that the organization lacks the funding necessary to protect and manage its collections over the long term.

The pallasite will be on display in the Peabody galleries when the museum opens its doors to the public in 2024 after a significant, building-wide refurbishment. It may also be joined by other specimens from the recent acquisition.

Trove of Meteorites

The Peabody Museum's meteorite collection holds historical significance as the oldest collection in North America, originating in 1807 when a meteorite descended over Weston, Connecticut. Professors Benjamin Silliman and James Kingsley from Yale meticulously gathered and analyzed fragments, marking the first documented instance of a meteorite in America.

Presently, the Peabody received a substantial donation, mainly comprising meteorites gathered in Northwest Africa and during three Antarctic expeditions between 1998 and 2002, the initial two involving NASA astronauts. Meteorites frequently surface in desert and polar settings due to their contrasting colors with sand and ice. This recent addition also boasts a specimen retrieved by NASA astronaut James Lovell during the 2000 Antarctic expedition. Moreover, this collection encompasses meteorite fragments from both the moon and Mars, identified through distinctive characteristics and gases trapped within.

These meteorites offer invaluable insights into the solar system's origin, mineralogy, chemistry, physics, and biological evolution. Notably, carbonaceous chondrites, a rare type of meteorite rich in organic materials like amino acids, are included, showcasing the oldest known meteorites, some pre-dating the solar system itself. In essence, meteorites serve as cosmic time capsules, shedding light on the distant origins and evolution of the solar system.