description Cold Bokkeveld Overview
Cold Bokkeveld is a CM2 carbonaceous chondrite that fell in South Africa's Cold Bokkeveld region in 1838. Its fine-grained material contains hydrated minerals produced by interaction with liquid water on its parent body, while its carbon-rich composition has also attracted investigation of extraterrestrial organic matter. As an early documented carbonaceous-chondrite fall, it has long served as material for studying aqueous alteration and primitive solar-system chemistry.
insights Ranking position
Cold Bokkeveld ranks #52 of 213 in the Meteorite ranking, behind Alais, ahead of Imilac.
help Cold Bokkeveld FAQ
What does the CM2 classification of Cold Bokkeveld mean?
CM identifies a carbonaceous-chondrite group chemically related to the Mighei meteorite, while type 2 indicates extensive alteration by water but little heating. Cold Bokkeveld therefore preserves fine-grained, carbon-rich material rather than a thoroughly recrystallized texture.
What evidence of ancient water is present in Cold Bokkeveld?
Cold Bokkeveld contains hydrated minerals formed when liquid water altered material inside its parent asteroid. Those minerals make the 1838 fall useful for studying water-driven chemistry in the early solar system.
Where did the Cold Bokkeveld meteorite fall?
It fell in South Africa's Cold Bokkeveld region in 1838. Its recovery as a witnessed fall gives researchers more confidence in its terrestrial history than they have for an undocumented desert find.
How is Cold Bokkeveld related to the Murchison meteorite?
Cold Bokkeveld and Murchison are both CM2 carbonaceous chondrites containing water-altered, carbon-bearing material. Murchison fell in Australia in 1969, whereas Cold Bokkeveld fell in South Africa more than a century earlier.
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