TABBITA - AN L6C CHONDRITE FROM NEW-SOUTH-WALES, AUSTRALIA

A crusted stone weighing 3.10 kg was found in 1983 near Tabbita in south central New South Wales (ca. 34-degrees 03'S, 145-degrees 50'E), Australia. Compositions of the ferro-magnesian silicates (olivine Fa24.6; orthopyroxene Fs20.9) show that the meteorite belongs to the L-group of chondrites. Uniformity of silicate compositions and the presence of abundant crystalline plagioclase feldspar (An10.8Ab81.7Or7.5) show that the meteorite belongs to petrologic type 6. Silicates that display undulose extinction, and the absence of any thermal effects induced by shock indicate that Tabbita is shock facies c. Tabbita is distinct from several other L6 chondrites found in the same general area.