Widmanstätten pattern
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A Widmanstätten pattern, also known as a Thomson structure, is a figure of long phases of nickel–iron, found in the octahedrite shapes of iron meteorite crystals and some pallasites.
Segment of the Toluca meteorite, about 10 cm wide
Widmanstätten pattern in the Staunton meteorite, found near Staunton, Virginia in the mid-19th century. Six pieces of nickel-iron were located over a period of some decades, with a total weight of 270 lb.
The fine Widmanstätten pattern (lamellae width 0.3mm) of a Gibeon meteorite.
Etched slice of a Canyon Diablo meteorite showing a Widmanstätten pattern
Iron meteorite
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Iron meteorites, also called siderites or ferrous meteorites, are a type of meteorite consisting overwhelmingly of an iron–nickel alloy known as meteoric iron, which usually comprises two mineral phas
Tamentit Iron Meteorite, found in 1864 in the Sahara, weighing about 500 kg (1,100 lb). On display at Vulcania park in France.
Widmanstätten pattern as seen on an etched and polished slice of an olivine-free portion of the Seymchan meteorite. Scale unknown.
The Hoba meteorite, the biggest known iron meteorite. It lies in Namibia and weighs about 60 tons.
The Willamette Meteorite on display at the American Museum of Natural History. It weighs about 14,500 kilograms (32,000 pounds). This is the largest meteorite ever found in the United States.