Mundrabilla

In 1911, an iron meteorite (octahedrite) Mundrabill weighing about 112 grams was found in the western part of Australia (Nullarbor plain). For the next decades, more pieces of this unique meteorite were gradually not climbed.

In a recent study, researchers from the University of California at San Diego and the Brookhaven Laboratory in New York discovered extraterrestrial superconducting grains in this meteorite that achieve superconductivity as low as 5 K.

Mundrabilla probably formed during the melting of the material in the asteroid’s core and its very slow cooling. It belongs to the types of meteorites rich in iron and in addition to it contains mainly nickel and ferrous sulfide and minerals such as trolite, schreibersite, or graphite inclusions.