Specimen Description

Discovered in 2009 in the remote Egyptian desert, the Gebel Kamil crater is approximately 45 meters in diameter and was formed by a meteorite impact roughly 5,000 years ago. This makes it one of the youngest impact craters on Earth. The meteorite fragments recovered from the site are iron meteorites classified as ataxites - a rare structural type characterized by very high nickel content that prevents the formation of Widmanstätten patterns. Iron meteorites like Gebel Kamil are composed primarily of iron-nickel alloy and represent fragments of the metallic cores of destroyed asteroids. Ataxites are particularly interesting due to their unique crystalline structure and high nickel content, typically above 16%. These specimens offer a glimpse into the differentiation processes that occurred in the early solar system.