Excellent Quality Iron Meteorite Endcut - Aletai - Coarse Octahedrite IIIE-an - 428 g

An excellent quality iron meteorite endcut, such as this one from Aletai, represents a fragment of an extraterrestrial iron-nickel alloy body that has endured passage through Earth's atmosphere. Classified as a coarse octahedrite IIIE-an, this meteorite features a distinctive crystal structure visible in polished and etched cross-sections, known as Widmanstätten patterns. These geometric patterns are formed through slow cooling over millions of years in the core of a parent asteroid, lending unique scientific and aesthetic value. Weighing 428 grams, this meteorite piece is of collector interest for its natural origin outside Earth, material composition, and the story it tells about the early solar system and planetary formation processes.