Today I present you with a mystery! One of my favorite aspects of this work is that I am frequently confronted with the opportunity to face a new riddle. When I inspect a new micrometeorite, I begin by selecting it from among myriad other particles under the light microscope. I then either file it away for closer inspection at a later date or take a few moments to scan the extraterrestrial particle quickly for interesting features.

Today I present a curious micrometeorite that seemed common and somewhat unremarkable, but ended up quite surprising me.

At first glance, NMM 2897 is an ordinary barred olivine (BO-type) micrometeorite, measuring approximately 0.3 mm, and sprinkled with small magnetite crystals on the surface. But look closer at the open hole on the lower part. This is not a hole from a disappeared metal bead. What happened here?

Of course, this is a mystery that will likely remain unsolved for all of eternity. But it’s interesting to think of the ways that a micrometeorite can suffer damage during or after formation that could possibly result in such a hole.

So, what do you think? Can you offer a plausible hypothesis? Drop me a line on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with your ideas!

Yours truly,

Jon Larsen