Gibeon Meteorite

Gibeon meteorites formed 4.5 billion years ago within the molten core of an asteroid that orbited the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. Following a collision with another asteroid, the Gibeon parent body shattered, enabling the release of its molten metallic core. While most of the fragments from this event were dispersed in the asteroid belt, a small fraction of the fragments deflected into an Earth-crossing orbit. Gibeon meteorites entered Earth's atmosphere several thousand years ago and proceeded to rain down upon the Kalahari Desert in Namibia.

With deep russet undertones showing through the gunmetal patina, this sculptural meteorite is the product of such variables as its chemical composition, the soil chemistry where it landed, its orientation in the ground, the amount of groundwater to which it was exposed, and the amount of time that passed before it was unearthed. Although it can be displayed aesthetically in numerous ways, one particularly striking angle makes this meteorite look like the tilted head of a great horned owl.