NWA 15739 — CM2 Carbonaceous Chondrite (0.45 grams)

A primitive carbonaceous chondrite from the CM group — chemically among the most pristine, least-altered material available from the early solar system. NWA 15739 was recovered from Northwest Africa and formally classified with a total known weight of just under 294 grams, making it a genuinely low-TKW specimen.

Classified as CM2, this meteorite preserves abundant chondrules (~250 micron average diameter) set in an iron-rich, fine-grained matrix, with no calcium-aluminum inclusions observed — a texture typical of the CM group's moderate degree of aqueous alteration on its parent body. CM chondrites are close cousins of Murchison, one of the most scientifically studied meteorites ever recovered, and are prized by collectors for representing solar-system material largely unmodified since accretion 4.5 billion years ago.

With a total known weight under 300 grams, this is a scarce find-class carbonaceous chondrite — considerably rarer on the market than the ordinary chondrites that make up the bulk of NWA finds.

Classification: Carbonaceous chondrite, CM2
Found: Northwest Africa, 2022
TKW: 293.87 g