9.6 kg moon rock part of the new Teck Suite of Galleries: Earth’s Treasures on December 20, 2008
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) announces a new late-breaking temporary addition to the Teck Suite of Galleries: Earth's Treasures opening December 20, 2008. A 9.6 kg meteorite from the moon, the largest known piece of the lunar highlands in existence, will be on display for the first time ever in the Vale Inco Limited Gallery of Minerals, inside the Teck Suite of Galleries. This meteorite is one of only 44 worldwide recognized lunar meteorites and will be displayed for a period of three months.
“The ROM already has an excellent meteorite collection, but seeing this specimen is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” said Dr. Kim Tait, ROM Associate Curator of Mineralogy. “This lunar meteorite is larger than any moon rock brought back by the NASA Apollo mission. It also has very high scientific value, as it came from a previously unsampled part of the moon. For the first time ever, ROM visitors can see what, up until now, has only been examined by scientists.”
Designated as NWA 5000, which indicates it was the 5,000th meteorite to be recovered from the deserts of Northwest Africa, this meteorite’s composition resembles that of rocks found on the Earth, helping to confirm a theory of our moon’s origin. It is known that as our planet was forming more than four billion years ago, it was involved in a catastrophic collision with another body approximately the size of Mars. The impactor was obliterated with its remnants circling the yet-unfinished Earth in a ring. As a result, material from the two bodies mixed together to form what eventually became our moon. Because of its size and relatively slight gravity, large impacts on the moon can be sufficient to launch material off the lunar surface and into space. On the infinitesimal chance that this debris ends up on an Earth-crossing trajectory, it may fall as a meteorite onto our planet. This extremely rare occurrence is vital in our understanding of our planet’s closest neighbour and the history of our galaxy.
NWA 5000 will be exhibited temporarily in the Vale Inco Gallery of Minerals, part of the Teck Suite of Galleries: Earth’s Treasures on Level 2 of the Weston Family Wing. Included in the permanent display is the ROM's outstanding meteorite collection, totaling one third of the world’s known lunar and Martian meteorite specimens. The exhibit features:
· Over 100 different specimens including nine lunar and six Martian meteorites.
· The Tagish Lake meteorite, the only specimen of its kind on display in the world, which may contain trapped nanocrystals of diamonds formed in a star that predated our sun.
· The fourth largest lunar known meteorite in the world is also featured. This recent acquisition, weighing 1.1 kilograms, has never been on public display.
Composed of the Vale Inco Limited Gallery of Minerals, the Gallery of Gems and Gold and the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Gallery, the Teck Suite of Galleries: Earth’s Treasures occupy a combined total of 6,900 square feet and showcase over 2,300 of the ROM’s exceptional specimens of minerals, gems, meteorites and rocks, a collection among the finest in North America. The fascinating displays are contextualized by over 40 interactive touch-screen stations containing all label information, compelling video exhibits and engrossing information on Canada’s mining industry. For more information on the Teck Suite of Galleries visit the ROM’s website at www.rom.on.ca.
NWA 5000 is on loan from the Hupé Collection.