Mars meteorite 'Black Beauty' is in a class of its own

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20900843



The rock was picked up in 2011

Mars meteorite 'Black Beauty' is in a class of its own
By Jonathan Amos
3 January 2013 Last updated at 14:06 ET

A dark lump of rock found in the Moroccan desert in 2011 is a new type of Martian meteorite, say scientists.

Weighing 320g, the stone has been given the formal name Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 - but is nicknamed "Black Beauty".

Its texture and chemistry set it apart from all previous objects picked up off the surface of Earth but known to originate on the Red Planet.

The researchers' analysis, reported in Science magazine, shows the meteorite to be just over two billion years old.