Kapustin Yar 					Location 48.806°N, 46.062°E

Astrakhanskaya District, Russia  

First find: April 2021

Ordinary Chondrite L/LL6

History: Meteorite was found by a person from Volgograd city, which has been searching for antique coins 
and other metallic artifacts using a metal detector. Large stone was found April 2021 in the territory 
of former steppe khutor (farm) in Akhtubinskii district, northern Astrakhanskaya distrikt. This khutor is located 
nearby the Kapustin Yar rocket range and the boundary between the Astrakhanskaya and Volgogradskaya distrikt, 22 km southwest 
of the former settlement of Zhitkur (Volgogradskaya distrikt). The stone was partially exposed with the main part in the ground. 
He took a small sample and showed it to another prospector, who suggested it was a meteorite. On April 2023, 
they unearther the large stone and found additionally nine smaller fragments. 
Later one of fragments (approximately 500 g, 150 x 80 x 40 mm) was showed to Igor V. Karlov (Novosibirsk), 
who had hunted for the Tsarev chondrite near village Kolobovka (Volgogradskaya distrikt). 
Igor Karlov confirmed the meteotitic origin of the stone and purchased one fragment (201 g) for his own meteorite collection, 
and brought one sample (44.8 g) to pass it for study in SIGM (Novosibirsk).

Physical characteristics: Total mass is 276.5 kg (one large stone and nine small fragments). 
The large meteorite has angular and roughly rounded shape, size - 480 x 600 x 500 mm. 
Its surface is partially covered by fusion crust. Some small fragments also contain fusion crust. The interior is spotted 
and looks like a breccia, but both light and dark parts are similar in petrography and mineralogy, 
and the light part is more disintegrated than the dark one.
The meteorite sample is slightly altered and halo of Fe-hydroxides is present around metal and sulfide grains.

Petrography: Classification - V.V. Sharygin (SIGM and UrFU) The meteorite contains a mid-grained to coarse recrystallized matrix 
and rare chondrules and their fragments. The chondrules (RP, POP, BO and PO species) are poorly defined; 
their sizes vary from 500 to 1000 µm. The chondrite matrix consists of olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, diopsidic clinopyroxene, 
albitic plagioclase, troilite, Fe-Ni-metal, chromite and accessory chlorapatite and merrillite. 
Metal-sulfide associations consist of kamacite, taenite, tetrataenite and troilite. Martensite occurs in some chondrules. 
Twinning occurs in some troilite grains. Plagioclase grains are larger than 50-100 µm. This outlines a petrological type 
of 6 for the meteorite. The metal abundance is about 3 vol%. The shock stage is low. Weathering grade is W2 with presence 
of Fe-hydroxides (mainly Ni-rich goethite) around some metal and troilite grains and in grain fissures. 
Pentlandite and rarely heazlewoodite are occasionally found in fissures in troilite.

Geochemistry: SEM-EDS analyses by V.V. Sharygin (SIGM and UrFU) The primary chondrite paragenesis includes olivine 
Fa26.37±0.42 (N=62), low-Ca pyroxene Fs22.32±0.59Wo1.55±0.34 (N=55), plagioclase Ab84.2An10.1Or5.7 (N=17), 
Cr-bearing clinopyroxene En45.2Fs8.4Wo46.4 (Cr2O3 – 0.7-0.9 wt.%, N=3), chromite Crt81.8Spl12.9 (N=17), 
chlorapatite, merrillite, FeNi-metals and troilite. Chlorapatite (N=9) contains F (0.5-0.9 wt.%), Cl (4.9-5.2 wt.%) 
and Na2O (0.4-0.5 wt.%). Merrillite is poor in FeO (up to 1.0 wt.%, N=4). Composition of metals (in wt.%): 
kamacite (N=14) – Fe 92.77±0.64, Ni – 6.09±0.51, Co – 1.16±0.23; taenite (N=7) – Fe 64.86±0.79, Ni 34.54±0.85, Co 0.53±0.12; 
tetrataenite (N=7) – Fe 45.75±2.68, Ni 53.89±2.61, Co 0.36±0.04; martensite (N=7) – Fe 83.26±0.35, Ni 15.55±0.30, Co 1.19±0.14. 
Compositions of the key silicates are intermediate between those in L and LL chondrites.

Classification: Ordinary chondrite L/LL6, S2, W2. Metal abundance and silicate composition is intermediate 
between that of L and LL groups. This meteorite is distinct from the Tsarev meteorite found 30-40 km away, 
both in mineral chemistry and texture.