The Binningup H5 Chondrite: A New Fall from Western Australia

The Binningup chondrite and its fall are described. The 488.1-g H5 chondrite fell onto a beach in western Australia on September 30, 1984 and was recovered immediately. Its fall is characterized on the basis of 23 visual sightings of the fireball and illustrated with a map. Particular attention is given to the macroscopic features (lenticular ovoid, covered with cracked fusion crust), mineralogy and petrology (granular olivine/pyroxene matrix with olivine chondrules and chondrule fragments and abundant particles of homogeneously distributed metal), and classification. The measured activities of short-lived cosmogenic isotopes in the chondrite are listed in a table and shown to be consistent with a normal irradiation history.