Campo Del Cielo Meteorite

Like all iron meteorites, the current offering is more than four billion years old and originates from the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. This extraterrestrial sculpture was once part of the core of an asteroid that broke apart — a portion of which was pushed into an Earth-crossing orbit. Spanish Conquistadors in 1576 first documented surprising metallic masses encountered in northern Argentina long before their unearthly origin was understood. The first large meteorite ever displayed at the former British Museum of Natural History (now the Natural History Museum, London) was a Campo del Cielo, and several large Campo del Cielo ("Field of Heaven") masses are found in the finest museums throughout the world today. This specimen's surface displays a dark charcoal patina with rich russet undertones.