Chassigny (meteorite)

Chassigny meteorite
Thin section of Chassigny under cross-polarized light (JPL)
Type	Achondrite
Class	Martian meteorite
Group	Chassignite
Parent body	Mars
Country	France
Region	Chassigny, Haute-Marne
Coordinates	47°43′N5°23′E / 47.717°N 5.383°E / 47.717; 5.383 [1]
Fall date	1815-10-03
Related media on Wikimedia Commons

Chassigny is a Martian meteorite which fell on October 3, 1815, at approximately 8:00 am, in Chassigny, north-eastern France. ^{[2] [3]} Chassigny is the meteorite for which the chassignites are named and gives rise to the "C" in the name of the SNC group of meteorites. Chassigny is an olivine cumulate rock (dunite). It consists almost entirely of olivine with intercumulus pyroxene, feldspar, and oxides. It was the only known chassignite until NWA2737 was found in the Moroccan Sahara in northwest Africa. ^[4]

Second-largest fragment of Chassigny meteorite

Chassigny is particularly important because, unlike most SNCs, its noble gas composition differs from that in the current Martian atmosphere. These differences are presumably due to its cumulate (mantle-derived) nature. ^[6]

See also

• Glossary of meteoritics
• Meteorite falls

References

1. Meteoritical Bulletin Database: Chassigny
2. Pistollet (1816) The circumstances of the Chassigny meteorite shower. Ann. Chim. Phys. (Paris) v. 1, pg 45-48.
3. "The Chassigny Meteorite" - From NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, stating it is the only example. URL accessed September 6, 2006.
4. Beck P., Barret J. A., Gillet P., Franchi I.A., Greenwood R. C., Van De Moortele B., Reyard B., Bohn M. and Cotton J. (2005) The Diderot Meteorite, the second chassignite. Lunar and Planet. Sci. XXXVI, Abstract #1326.
5. "Naturhistorisches Museum Wien - Meteorites" . Retrieved July 29, 2025.
6. Mars Meteorite Compendium: Chassigny, Compiled by Charles Meyer.