Meteorite Charts

Meteorite Charts
The Largest Meteorites
The largest meteorites found are usually irons. This is due to the fact that
iron meteorites are much more stable compared to either stony or stony-
iron meteorites. The latter two types of meteorites often break up into
many pieces upon entering the atmosphere, creating the most impressive
phenomenon known as a meteor shower. Moreover, they suffer from the
effects of ablation much more than the irons during their passage through
the atmosphere. Finally, yet importantly, iron meteorites are much more
resistant to the severe effects of terrestrial weathering, permitting huge
iron blocks that fell in ancient times to be preserved until this day. The
following lists show the top twenty largest meteorites - the real giants of
the three basic types of meteorites. Please note that these lists don't
display the total known weight of each distinct fall, but rather the weights
of the largest individuals that have been recovered from each fall. Hoba - The Largest Meteorite
Iron Meteorites
Meteorite Country Found Structural Class Group Weight kg
Hoba Namibia 1920 Ataxite IVB 60,000
Campo del Cielo Argentina 1990 Octahedrite IAB 37,000
Cape York (Ahnighito) Greenland 1894 Octahedrite IIIAB 31,000
Armanty China 1898 Octahedrite IIIE 23,500
Bacubirito Mexico 1863 Octahedrite UNG 22,000
Cape York (Agpalilik) Greenland 1963 Octahedrite IIIAB 20,000
Mbosi Tanzania 1930 Octahedrite UNG 16,000
Campo del Cielo Argentina 1576 Octahedrite IAB 15,000
Willamette USA 1902 Octahedrite IIIAB 14,900
Chupaderos Mexico 1854 Octahedrite IIIAB 14,100
Mundrabilla Australia 1911 Octahedrite IIICD 12,000
Morito Mexico 1600 Octahedrite IIIAB 11,000
Stony-Iron Meteorites
Meteorite Country Found Class Weight kg
Huckitta Australia 1937 Pallasite 1,400
Krasnojarsk Russia 1749 Pallasite 700

Brenham USA 1947 Pallasite 450
Stony Meteorites
Meteorite Country Fell Class Group Weight kg
Jilin China 1976 Chondrite H5 1,770
Norton County USA 1948 Achondrite Aubrite 1,073
Long Island USA 1891 Chondrite L6 (broken) 564
Paragould USA 1930 Chondrite LL5 371
Bjurbole Finland 1899 Chondrite L/LL4 (broken) 330
Meteorite Classification
In general, meteorites are classified according
to
their structure and mineralogy, using chemical,
isotopic, and structural analysis. Three very
broad
categories are recognized: stones, irons and
stony-irons.
There are also various sub-categories and the
job of
classification can be complex and must be
accomplished
by a competent lab.
The classes listed on this page are the most

common
classes. There are several less common
classes,
of which only a few examples are known.
Several labs are listed on the Finding a

Meteorite page.
If you think you have found a meteorite and
would like
it tested, be sure to look here.
Stone (stony) Meteorites

Stone meteorites make up approximately 94% of observed falls and are thought to be
material from mantle and crust areas of asteroids. A few stone meteorites are believed to
be from comets. Stony meteorites contain approximately 75-90% silicate (stony) minerals
(mostly olivine and pyroxene) and 10-25% nickel-iron metal and iron sulfide. In addition
most stone meteorites contain varying degrees of nickel-iron alloy. There are several
different types of stone meteorites:
Chondrites
As a group, chondrites make up approximately 86 % of all stone meteorites. Chondrite
meteorites as so named because they contain small spherical crystals of minerals such as
olivine and pyroxene. These crystals are called "chondrules." Some chondrules have
undergone little, if any, chemical and physical change since the birth of the solar system
and some have lost their distinctiveness through impact and heating. The distinctiveness
of the chondrules vary and a numbering system (petrographic grades 1 through 6) has
been devised to indicate the degree to which chondrules are distinct; the higher the
number, the less distinct the chondrules. Chondrite meteorites also contain varying
amounts of metal, which can be seen as small flakes when the meteorite is cut and sliced.
Note also that a few rare type of stone meteorites are classified as chondrites even though
they contain no chondrules. This is why classification of meteorites by chemical analysis is
important.
Norton (1998) states that "with the exception of the lightest gases, hydrogen and helium,
chondrites have an elemental composition very close to the sun's. It is as though pieces of
the Sun, minus the light elements, had condensed into sold matter to form chondrites."
There are also subclasses of chondrites:
H group (also called olivine-bronzite chondrites). These meteorites contain a relatively
high degree of iron (25 to 31%) both in mineral form and metal flake.
L Group (also called olivine-hypersthene chondrites). These meteorites contain less total
iron (20 to 25%) and less visible iron than the H group.
LL Group (also called amphoterites). There is very little free iron visible as well as little iron
in the minerals. Indeed, LL chondrites contain between 19 to 22% total iron and about 3%
metal. As well, the LL group tend to be more composed of fragmented rocks than the other
groups, a process call "brecciation."
Enstatite Chondrites. (also called E chondrites). Enstatite Chondrites are composed the
silicate enstatite (iron free pyroxene). They represent less than 2% of the stone
meteorites. It is theorized that the E chondrites formed in an oxygen-depleted
environment, possibly near Mercury's orbit. The E chondrites are subclassified into H and
L subtypes depending on iron content.
Carbonaceous Chondrites. The carbonaceous chondrites are very rare and extremely
interesting. These meteorites contain organic compounds, amino acids, interstellar
material (material from exploded stars outside of our solar system). They tend to have a
dark matrix and well defined chondrules. Carbonaeous chondreites are comprised of
about 2 percent carbon by weight. Carbonaceous chondrites make up only 2 to 3 percent
of meteorite falls. Visually, they generally resemble charcoal briquettes and structurally,
they are very fragile meteorites. Unfortunatly, they tend to weather rapidly when exposed
to climatic conditions on the earth's surface.
Achondrites
As a group, achondrites make up approximately 7% of fallen stone meteorites. They are
extremely rare. They generally do not contain chondrules nor do they show much metal
flake (typically, none at all). Achondrite meteorites are thought to be lavas or impact
breccias from the surface of asteroids, although a subgroup, the SNCs, are thought to
originate from the planet Mars!
Iron Meteorites
Iron meteorites are composed almost entirely of nickel-iron. They often have mineral
inclusions and are believed to originate from the core of large asteroids. Iron meteorites
are often grouped into three large categories, based upon the chemical composition and
structure:
Octahedrites. Octahedrite irons contain about 7 to 10% nickel. When sliced and etched
with acid, they display bands call "widmanstatten" bands. A further subdivision of
octahedrites is made based upon the width of the bands: fine, medium, coarse, and
coarsest. The bands narrows with increasing nickel content.
Hexahedrites. Hexahedrite iron meteorites contain a relatively low amount of nickel
(approximately 6% or less) and when etched with acid, show very thin lines called
"Neumann lines" which have a hexahedral structure.
Ataxites. Ataxite irons are the highest in nickel content (approximately 16% or more) and
show no structure when etched with acid.
Stony-iron meteorites are composed of approximately 50% nickel-iron and 50% silicate
material. They make up only 1 to 2% of all meteorites. There two large subgroups:
Pallasites. Pallasite are composed of olivine crystals set in a nickel-iron matrix. They are
believed to form at the core-mantle boundary of a large asteroid. When cut and polished,
they are among the most beautiful of meteorites.
Mesosiderites. Mesosiderites are a mixture of metal grains, pyroxene, olivine, and
plagioclas. It is believed that mesosiderites are formed when two asteroids, one metal-rich
and the other silicate-rich, collide in a violent impact.
The Largest Meteorite Showers

Only a few meteoroides make their passage through the
atmosphere in one piece. Most of them are fragmented on their way
due to the high pressures to which they are subjected. Sometimes
they may burst into only a few fragments, at other times, into
thousands of individual pieces creating a meteorite shower. Only a
few pieces from such a shower actually arrive on Earth since all of
the smaller fragments usually burn up during their passage.
However, sometimes when the initial pieces are big enough, it
literally "rains stones", and thousands of meteorites can be
collected from huge strewn fields.
One of the most impressive meteorite showers of the 20th century

was the fall of Sikhote-Alin. On February 12, 1947, a huge iron
meteoroid exploded over the mountains of eastern Siberia, Russia.
Its fireball was as large as the sun, and a huge smoke train
extended behind it (see the picture on the right, painted by the
eyewitness Medvedev). More than 70 tons of individuals and
fragments have been collected from its strewnfield, making it the
largest fall in history. There is only one comparable prehistoric
strewnfield, Campo del Cielo from Argentina. The following lists
Sikhote-Alin Meteorite Shower
show the most prominent meteorite showers of historic and
prehistoric times. >> top...
Historic Meteorite Showers
Meteorite Country Fell TKW kg Individuals
Pultusk Poland 1868 > 200 > 180,000
Holbrook USA 1912 > 220 > 16,000
Sikhote-Alin Russia 1947 > 70,000 > 15,000
Allende Mexico 1969 > 2,000 > 5,000
L'Aigle France 1803 > 37 kg > 3,000
Mocs Romania 1882 > 300 > 3,000
Prominent Prehistoric Strewn Fields
Meteorite Country Found TKW kg Individuals
Campo del Cielo Argentina 1576 > 70,000 thousands
Gibeon Namibia 1836 > 26,000 thousands
Toluca Mexico 1776 > 2,500 thousands
Brenham USA 1882 > 2,400 thousands
Imilac Chile 1822 > 1,000 1,000
Plainview USA 1917 > 700 > 1,000

The Oldest Meteorites
When we are talking about the oldest meteorites we are not referring to the absolute age of
those meteorites - most of them crystallized during the formation of our solar system and
have absolute ages of 4.5 billion years! Instead, we are talking about their terrestrial ages,
the time between their initial fall until the present day. Most meteorites weather away quite
quickly in the oxidizing environment of the Earth, while some meteorites may literally be
observed as they rust away. However, other meteorites fell at more fortuitous locations and
were preserved until this day, e.g. in the ice fields of Antarctica and in the hot deserts of
Africa. Some of them have been preserved for as long as 40,000 years or more. Indeed,
there are some meteorites found to be much older still - those that have been preserved in
sediments or in other geologic strata conducive to preservation, often referred to as "fossil
meteorites".
The oldest of these fossils is the meteorite of Osterplana, Sweden, that was found in 1987
imbedded in some limestone. This limestone, which dated from Ordovician times, revealed
to the scientists that the imbedded meteorite had fallen 480 million years ago! The
meteorite of Osterplana is even older than the Brunflo meteorite which previously held the
record for the "oldest". Brunflo, which was also found in Swedish limestone in 1980, has a
terrestrial age of 450 million years. As with true fossils, most of the original meteoritic
minerals in fossil meteorites has been replaced by terrestrial minerals leaving only the outer
structure of the meteorite preserved. Although both meteorites have been classified as
chondrites, only their chondritic structure remains as evidence of their extraterrestrial
origins.
The oldest intact meteorite is the Lake Murray iron. A single mass with a thick iron-shale
was found in a gully in Oklahoma, USA, in 1933. The meteorite was imbedded in some
Antler Sandstone dating from the Lower Cretaceous, suggesting that Lake Murray landed in
a near-shore, shallow sea, while these beds were being deposited about 110 million years
ago! In addition, although the exterior of this meteorite has been heavily corroded, the
inner nickel-iron core has remained unaltered, establishing Lake Murray as the oldest
meteorite on earth. It literally fell in times when dinosaurs still ruled the Earth!
Stony Meteorites
The stony meteorites represent the most
heterogeneous class of meteorites,
ranging from primordial matter that
remained more or less unchanged for
the last 4.5 billion years to highly
evolved rocks from other differentiated
worlds, such as the Moon or the planet
Mars. >> more...
The class of stony-iron meteorites
comprises several chemically and
genetically unrelated groups of
meteorites that have just one thing in
common - they are composed of more or
less equal parts of nickel-iron metal and
different stony components. >> more...
Iron Meteorites
Prior to the age of professional meteorite

hunting most meteorite finds were irons.
Due to their nickel-iron compositions and
their extraordinary weights, even a
layman can tell them from ordinary
rocks. In fact, the largest meteorites
known all belong to the class of iron
meteorites. >> more...
Stony Meteorites
The stony meteorites represent the most heterogeneous class of meteorites, ranging from primordial ma
"Stony-iron meteorites are less abundant than their stony and iron cousins are. Taken together, all palla
when compared to the other major types of meteorites, stony-irons are exceptionally rare, representing
Chondrites
Chondrites are more or less undifferentiated, primordial matter that has remained nearly unchanged for
crystallized from the hot primordial solar nebula in form of small spheres that we nowadays call chondru
accreted with other material that condensed from the solar nebula forming a matrix, and of course, the
In their chemical composition, chondrites resemble the Sun, depleted of the most volatile elements like
formed. Different asteroids formed in various regions of the primordial solar nebula under different cond
into several clans, groups, and subgroups by modern meteoritics and cosmochemistry. We will elaborate
However, chondrites are not only differentiated into clans and groups reflecting chemical and isotopic re
are classified into petrologic types. Each type is designated with a number from 1 to 7 whereas type 3 b
within the minerals of a chondrite. Petrologic types 1 to 3 represent highly unequilibrated chondrites due
chondrites when they are referring to certain petrologic types.
Unequilibrated chondrites of petrologic types 2 and 1 have been subjected to an increasing degree of aq
early history. Type 2 chondrites exhibit only a sparse distribution of more or less aqueously altered chon
Petrologic types 3 to 7 have been exposed to increasing thermal metamorphism that is reflected in an in
and recrystallization. In chondrites of petrologic type 7 we can witness the end of this process since cho
specimens that form a link between chondrites and primitive achondrites.
It is important to say that the thermal metamorphism that creates petrologic types 4 to 7 doesn't involv
melt breccias or IMBs. Our new find NWA 772, a L chondrite also known as "El Kachla", is a most beauti
Carbonaceous
CI CM CV CO CK CR CH CB
Chondrites
Ordinary Chondrites H L LL
Other Chondrites E R K F
Carbonaceous Chondrites
Carbonaceous chondrites or C chondrites represent some of the most

pristine matter known, and their chemical compositions match the chemistry
of the Sun more closely than any other class of chondrites. Carbonaceous
chondrites are primitive and undifferentiated meteorites that formed in
oxygen-rich regions of the early solar system so that most of the metal is
not found in its free form but as silicates, oxides, or sulfides. Most of them
contain water or minerals that have been altered in the presence of water,
and some of them contain larger amounts of carbon as well as organic
compounds. This is especially true for the carbonaceous chondrites that have
been relatively unaltered by heating during their history. The most primitive
carbonaceous chondrites have never been heated above 50°C!
However, there are different clans and groups of carbonaceous chondrites

that formed on different parent bodies in different regions of the early solar
nebula. The most important groups are designated as CI, CM, CV, CO, CR,
CK, and CH chondrites. In the following, we'd like to introduce these groups
as well as a new group, the CB chondrites, also known as bencubbinites.
CI Group
Chondrites of the CI group are named for their type specimen Ivuna, which
fell in Tanzania in 1938, and there are only a handful of those rare
meteorites known. The CI chondrites represent some of the most primitive,
friable, and "ugly" meteorites - and yet they are some of the most
interesting ones.
They all belong to the petrologic type 1, which means that they suffered a
large degree of aqueous alteration. Hence they don't contain any relict
chondrules but instead, a large amount of water, up to 20%, in addition to
lots of minerals that have been altered in the presence of water such as
hydrous phyllosilicates similar to terrestrial clays, oxidized iron in the form of
magnetite, and sparsely distributed crystals of olivine scattered throughout
the black matrix. In addition, they contain certain amounts of organic matter
like PAHs and amino acids, which are the building blocks of life on earth.
Because of that peculiar mixture of water and complex organic compounds
the chondrites of the CI group are suspected to contain fascinating clues to
the origin of life on our planet and maybe elsewhere in the universe too!
Some researchers suggest the origin of the CI chondrites is from comets

that are known to be "dirty snowballs" - a mixture of frozen water and
pristine matter. Even if that isn't true, the origin of the CI chondrites is
certainly in the outer reaches of our solar system since they never have
been heated above 50°C during their formation and their subsequent
history. Otherwise, the water would have evaporated quite rapidly and the
hydrous phyllosilicates would have been metamorphosed into other minerals
due to the loss of water. >> top...
CM Group
This group is named for its type specimen, the meteorite of Mighei, which
fell in Ukraine in 1889, and it has many more members than the previous
group. About 80 chondrites of the CM group are known, and they mostly
belong to petrologic type 2, although certain lithologies in some of its
members are known to belong to type 1 (e.g. in Cold Bokkeveld). With
about 10% water, they contain less than the CI chondrites and show less
aqueous alteration so that some chondrules have been well preserved.
Those chondrules consist of olivine and are scattered throughout the black
matrix. In that mixture of phyllosilicate and magnetite, similar to the matrix
of the CI chondrites, one also finds light-coloured inclusions. These high-
temperature silicates are lacking in the CI group.
As with the CI chondrites, the CM chondrites are well known to contain a

wealth of complex organic compounds. The well-studied meteorite of
Murchison, a CM2 that fell in Australia in 1969, was found to contain more
than 230 different amino acids, whereas on earth only 20 different amino
acids are known and used as fundamental building blocks of life. Some of
these extraterrestrial amino acids were found to exhibit strange isotopic
signatures that might indicate that they don't have their origin within our
solar system. These amino acids are believed to represent actual interstellar
matter from other systems and nebulae that were trapped in this meteorite
more than 4.5 billion years ago.
Because of this fact, some researchers have promoted the idea that
Murchison and other CM chondrites, e.g. the witnessed falls of Murray, and
Nogoya, might be of cometary origin, but recent research indicates that
certain dark asteroids within the main asteroid belt are the real source of the
CM meteorites. There is for example a certain spectral match between the
reflectance spectra of the CM chondrites and the largest asteroid of our solar
system, 1 Ceres - an irregular dark chunk of matter in the size of Texas.
However, recent research has found an even closer match, at least for
Murchison - the asteroid 19 Fortuna which is a good candidate to be the lost
parent body of this peculiar meteorite and maybe of the other CM
chondrites, too. >> top...
CV Group
The chondrites of this group are named for their type specimen, the
meteorite of Vigarano, which fell in Italy in 1910. The CV group has about 50
members, but the number of actual CV falls has to be estimated to be
somewhat lower since many of them are paired finds from the hot deserts of
Africa and the blue-ice fields of Antarctica.
Most CV chondrites belong to petrologic type 3, and only one has been found
to belong to type 2 as well as one other that has been classified as type 4.
The structure and composition of these carbonaceous chondrites is more
close to that of ordinary chondrites. In a dark-grey matrix of mainly iron-rich
olivine, the meteorites of the CV group exhibit large, well-defined chondrules
that are made of magnesium-rich olivine, often surrounded by iron sulfide.
The meteorites of this group also contain white, irregular inclusions of
different size that often make up more than 5% of the meteorite. These
inclusions are high-temperature minerals called CAIs (calcium-aluminium
inclusions) and are composed of silicates and oxides of calcium, aluminium,
and titanium.
These large CAIs, characteristic of CV chondrites, have been intensely

studied in the famous meteorite of Allende. Allende fell in Mexico in 1969,
shortly before Neil Armstrong took his first step on the Moon. The CAIs of
Allende contain fine-grained, microscopic diamonds - and those diamonds
exhibit strange isotopic signatures that point to an origin outside of our solar
system. They are interstellar grains that have proven to be older than the
earth and the sun, and probably they are the product of a nearby supernova,
of a dying star that made his last breath when our own system formed.
Traces of this supernova have been trapped within the CAIs and preserved
in the CV group and other carbonaceous chondrites to this day.
The chondrites of the CV group are further divided into three subgroups. The
type specimen Vigarano and some other meteorites belong to the reduced
subgroup designated as CV3R. These CVs show a higher chondrule
abundance as well as more reduced metal and less magnetite than the other
two oxidized subgroups. One of these oxidized subgroups is named for the
fall of Allende and has been designated as CV3OxA. The meteorites of this
subgroup contain minerals like andradite, grossular, kirschsteinite, nepheline
and others that aren't found in any other CV subgroup. The other oxidized
subgroup is named for the fall of Bali and is designated as CV3OxB. The
members of this subgroup represent the most oxidized CVs and show traces
of aqueous alteration as well as phyllosilicates that aren't found in the other
two subgroups. >> top...
CO Group
The meteorites of this group are named for their type specimen Ornans that
fell in France in 1868 - by that, not far from our home in the French
department Doubs. There are only about 25 members of this group if we
don't count all the probable pairings - especially from the Dar al Gani region,
Libya, where many COs have been found. It's more than probable that all
Dar al Gani COs arrived in one or two distinct falls.
All members of this group of carbonaceous chondrites belong to the

petrologic type 3, and they show a certain relation to the CV group when it
comes to chemistry and composition. Therefore, many researchers suppose
that the CV and the CO group represent a distinct clan of carbonaceous
chondrites that formed in the same region of the early solar system.
However, the conditions under which the COs formed must have been
different from the conditions under which the CVs formed because there are
obvious differences.
First, the chondrites of the CO group are mostly of a more black appearance
(although a few are dark-grey; e.g. the type specimen Ornans) and exhibit
much smaller chondrules. These tiny chondrules are packed densely within
the matrix, representing over 70% of the entire meteorite. In CV chondrites,
this ratio is reversed; only about 30% of the meteorite is composed of large
chondrules. As in the CV group, the members of the CO group contain CAIs,
but these inclusions are commonly much smaller and more sparsely
distributed throughout the matrix. Typical for the COs are clearly visible,
small inclusions of free metal, mostly nickel-iron, that appear like tiny flakes
on the polished surfaces of a fresh, unweathered CO3. From this we can
conclude that the chondrites of the CO group formed under even more
reducing conditions than the CVs of the reduced subgroup which don't show
that much metal in its free form. >> top...
CK Group
The meteorites of this group are named for Karoonda, a meteorite that fell in
Australia in 1930. There are only about 20 different CK members known if
we exclude all the pairings that have been found so far in the hot deserts of
Africa and on the blue-ice fields of Antarctica. Initially, those meteorites
were regarded as members of the CV group and were designated as CV4-5.
However, more recently, they have been given their own group since they
differ in some respect from all the other carbonaceous chondrites.
The chondrites of the CK group belong to the petrologic types 3 - 6,

although most of them have been classified as CK4. They are of a dark-grey
or black appearance due to a high percentage of magnetite that is dispersed
in a matrix of dark silicates, consisting of iron-rich olivine and pyroxene. All
of this indicates that they formed under oxidizing conditions, but they don't
show any aqueous alteration or phyllosilicates. Elemental abundances as well
as the oxygen isotopic signatures suggest that the CK chondrites are closely
related to the chondrites of the CO and CV groups and belong to the same
clan. They plot somewhere in between those two groups which can be also
seen in the size of the chondrules which are intermediate between the
typical sizes of CV and CO chondrules. Most CK chondrites sometimes
contain large CAIs. In addition, some CK members exhibit shock veins that
indicate a violent history for their parent body or an impact history.
However, scientists have not yet identified a spectral match for a possible
parent body for these rare carbonaceous chondrites yet. >> top...
CR Group
The chondrites of the CR group are named for their type specimen Renazzo,
which fell in Italy in 1824. There are only about 15 CR chondrites known,
with Renazzo initially classified as a "type II" CM2 chondrite. However, the
CR chondrites are very different from the CM group, although they also
mostly belong to petrologic type 2. Like the CM chondrites, they contain
hydrosilicates, traces of water, and magnetite. The main difference is that
they contain reduced metal in the form of nickel-iron and iron sulfide of up
to 10%. This metal is found in the black matrix as well as in the large and
clearly visible chondrules that make up about 50% of the meteorites.
Sometimes the orange-coloured chondrules are "armored"; i.e. imbedded
into small rims of nickel-iron or iron sulfide. All this is typical for the
chondrites of the CR group, and it's quite easy to distinguish them from
members of other carbonaceous chondrite groups.
Scientists have searched for the origin of the CR chondrites, comparing

different reflectance spectra of asteroids with the spectra of the known CR
members. There's quite a good match between the spectra of the CR
members and one of the most prominent asteroids in our solar system, 2
Pallas, the second largest asteroid known. In addition, maybe we have other
samples of this prospective parent body since modern research suggests
that two other groups of carbonaceous chondrites are closely related to the
CR chondrites - the CH chondrites and CB chondrites or bencubbinites.
Together they form the so-called CR clan that either has its origin in one and
the same parent body or at least in a common region of the early solar
system in which they formed under similar, more reducing conditions. >>
top...
CH Group
This group of carbonaceous chondrites is somewhat of an exception since its

name is not derived from a type specimen but from one of the typical
properties of those meteorites. The "H" stands for "high metal" since the CH
chondrites contain up to 15% nickel-iron. There are only about 10
meteorites known which belong to the CH group if one excludes probable
pairings. The first of those meteorites has been found in the Antarctic Allan
Hills and has been named ALH 85085, so it can be regarded as the type
specimen of the CH group. So maybe it would be better to call them "CA
group" holding on to the system of nomenclature that has been used for the
other groups of carbonaceous chondrites. However, the "CH" is already
established, and it might cause too much confusion to change this term just
for keeping with the rules of a stringent nomenclature.
All chondrites of the CH group belong to petrologic types 2 or 3, and

chemically they are very close to the CR chondrites and the bencubbinites
(CB chondrites). Besides their high abundance of nickel-iron, they show
many fragmented chondrules, only a few remaining intact. Most of these
chondrules as well as the less abundant CAIs are very small which is typical
for the chondrites of the CH group. As with the CR chondrites, the members
of the CH group contain certain amounts of phyllosilicates and other traces
of aqueous alteration that took place during their history of formation.
Some researchers have suggested that the CH chondrites formed in close

proximity to the Sun. This is reflected in the abundance of certain trace
elements as well as in mineralogy. It is believed that they condensed in a
very early stage from the hot primordial nebula inside what is today the
orbit of Mercury and have been later transported to outer and cooler regions
of the nebula where they have been more or less preserved to this day. An
interesting coincidence is that the planet Mercury might have formed from
similar, metal-rich material. This would explain its high density and its
extraordinary large metal core that makes Mercury unique among all other
terrestrial planets in our solar system. >> top...
CB Group
The meteorites of this newly designated group are named for their type
specimen Bencubbin, which has been found in Australia in 1930. Only five
meteorites constitute this group, plus one new member that has recently
been found by our team, currently under analysis.
The bencubbinites are strange meteorites that contain more than 50%
nickel-iron. If you consider this, they could be easily regarded as true stony-
irons, but their mineralogical and chemical properties clearly put them into
the clan of the carbonaceous chondrites, or more strictly speaking into the
CR clan. Besides the free metal, they contain highly reduced silicates as well
as armed chondrules similar to those found in the members of the CR group.
Some members of the CB group also contain CAIs; e.g. the meteorite HaH
237 from Libya, which was previously classified as a metal-rich CH
chondrite.
This shows the close relationship between the CH and CB chondrites, which
are both members of the CR clan. It is probable that all members of this clan
formed under different conditions in the same region of the primordial solar
nebula, but it's also possible that they are all part of one and the same
parent body. That being so, 2 Pallas, the second largest asteroid of our solar
system, would be a prominent candidate to be the possible common source
of the meteorites of this clan. At least the reflectance spectra of the CR
chondrites seem to match the spectra of 2 Pallas quite closely suggesting
that those meteorites might have been derived from this large asteroid
through impact events. On the other hand the meteorites of the CR clan
don't show too many signs of an impact history such as brecciation, shock-
veins etc. so that they might have been derived from much smaller parent
bodies which aren't to be identified that easily. >> top...
C Ungrouped
Some carbonaceous chondrites don't fit into established groups, although

they can be easily classified as members of the carbonaceous chondrite clan.
They are usually designated as C ungrouped or "C UNGR" and they probably
represent other parent bodies of carbonaceous chondrites or source regions
of the primordial solar nebula. Some of them show a certain relationship to
each other and to other groups of carbonaceous chondrites, but the
Meteoritical Society has decided that it needs at least five members to
constitute a new group.
However, certain new groups and "grouplets" have been proposed in the
past; for example, the Coolidge grouplet named for the meteorite from
Coolidge that was found in Kansas, USA, in 1937. There are two other
carbonaceous chondrites officially designated as C UNGR that show a similar
high matrix/chondrule ratio as Coolidge as well as the same enrichment in
refractory elements. Maybe this grouplet and others will gain the status of a
fully accepted group as soon as new members are found and recognized in
the wealth of new meteorites from the hot deserts of Africa and Asia, as well
as from the blue-ice fields of Antarctica. >> top...
Ordinary Chondrites
Chondrites of this clan are designated as "ordinary" just because they are
the most common class of stony meteorites, representing more than 85% of
all witnessed chondrite falls. As genuine pieces of primordial matter,
ordinary chondrites are everything else but ordinary since they are more
rare than gold or diamonds and older than any mineral known on Earth.
More importantly, they might not be that common at all when it comes to
the actual distribution of chondritic matter in our solar system. Some
researchers have suggested that the high percentage of ordinary chondrite
falls might only be due to the coincidence of the crossing orbits of certain
Near Earth Asteroids - so-called NEOs - and the orbit of the Earth. If the
majority of those NEOs would be of ordinary chondritic composition this
would of course result in a higher percentage of ordinary chondrite falls.
Thus, ordinary chondrites might be not that ordinary at all. In terms of
mineralogy, ordinary chondrites are primarily composed of olivine,
orthopyroxene, and a certain percentage of more or less oxidized nickel-iron.
Based on the differing content of metal and differing mineralogical
compositions the ordinary chondrites have been subdivided into three
distinct groups that are designated as H, L, and LL chondrites.
H Group
This large group counts more than 7.000 members (including lots of
probable pairings), and it has been named for the high content of free
nickel-iron that is characteristic for the meteorites of this group - the "H"
standing for "high iron". H chondrites contain a weight percentage of 25 to
31% total iron whereas only 15 to 19% nickel-iron is found in its free,
reduced form. Hence, all H chondrites are attracted to a magnet quite easily.
The H chondrites belong to petrological types 3 - 7, with a characteristic

peak at type 5. More than 3,400 members of this group have been classified
as H5, about 1,800 are H6, and about 1,400 are H4. There are only about
200 H3s as well as some rare, heavily brecciated members that contain lithic
clasts of several petrological types. The primary minerals are olivine and the
orthopyroxene bronzite. For this reason the H chondrites have also been
called "olivine bronzite chondrites" or "bronzite chondrites", but those names
are no longer in use.
The comparisons of the reflectance spectra of the H chondrites to the

spectra of several main belt asteroids have yielded a probable parent body -
the asteroid 6 Hebe. However, 6 Hebe might not be the direct source of the
H chondrites but only some sort of ancestor. Probably 6 Hebe collided with
another asteroid at one time of his history and larger parts of it were
dislodged into an elliptical near-earth orbit. The resulting swarm of NEOs,
the children of 6 Hebe, are thought to be the true parent bodies from which
the H chondrites are derived. >> top...
L Group
With about 6,500 members (including probable pairings), the chondrites of

the L group represent the second largest group of ordinary chondrites. The
"L" stands for "low iron" - especially in its free form. L chondrites contain a
weight percentage of 20 to 25% total iron, but only 4 to 10% nickel-iron is
found as free metal. Therefore, L chondrites are also attracted to a magnet,
but much less than their cousins of the H group.
The L chondrites belong to the petrological types 3 - 7, with a characteristic

peak at type 6. More than 4,000 have been classified as L6, about 1,300 as
L5, just 400 as L4, and only about 300 as L3. Brecciated members that show
clasts of several petrologic types do occur, but they are more rare than in
the H group. Besides magnetite and nickel-iron, the L chondrites are
composed of olivine and the orthopyroxene hypersthene. Consequently, they
have been called "olivine hypersthene chondrites" or "hypersthene
chondrites" in older literature and papers. However, this name is not fitting
modern meteoritics and the Meteoritical Society discourages the use of these
names.
When it comes to the origin of the L chondrites it has been suspected that
they might be former parts of the near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros which has
been intensely studied by the spacecraft NEAR-Shoemaker recently. The
reflectance spectra of 433 Eros and the L chondrites seem to match closely -
however, most L chondrites show signs of severe shock metamorphism
suggesting a violent history of its parent body. Maybe the real parent of the
L chondrites was some kind of relative or a former part of 433 Eros that has
been entirely disrupted when it collided with another asteroid. >> top...
LL Group
This group represents the least common class of ordinary chondrites since it
includes just about 1,100 members (again, including probable pairings). The
"LL" stands for "low iron" and "low metal" reflecting that LL chondrites
usually contain a weight percentage of 19 to 22% total iron, but only 1 to
3% free metal. Hence, they are only weakly attracted to a magnet.
Like the other ordinary chondrites, the LL chondrites show petrologic types
from 1 - 7, but the distribution of types shows no distinct peak. The most
common LL chondrites are LL6 and LL5 with about 400 members each. More
unequilibrated types such as LL4 and LL3 are much more rare with just
about 70 members each. The olivine in LL chondrites is more iron-rich than
in the other ordinary chondrites, and this implies that the LL chondrites must
have formed under more oxidizing conditions than the H or L chondrites.
Older literature lists the LL chondrites often as "amphoterites" since they
were thought to be a connecting link between chondrites and achondrites,
but this name is misleading and no longer in use.
Scientists are still searching for a probable parent body for the LL group.
One small main belt asteroid, 3628 Boznemcová, has been spotted which
exhibits a similar reflectance spectrum to the spectra of the LL chondrites,
but with a diameter of just 7 km it seems to be too small to be regarded as
the original parent body of the LL members. Maybe it's just a fragment of a
common ancestor which links the LL chondrites to 3628 Boznemcová, and
further research will still have to find the real source of the LL chondrites
within the dense population of NEOs crossing Earth's orbit. >> top...
Other Chondrites
Other, less common chondrite groups provide important insight into our
early solar system history, as well as details on chondrite formation. In our
previous discussion on carbonaceous chondrites, we explained how specific
groups formed under variable oxidizing conditions based upon their distance
from the Sun. For example, the CI and CM chondrite groups formed under
the more oxidizing conditions present in the outer regions of the solar
nebula. In contrast, groups such as the CO and CH chondrites formed under
more reducing conditions, indicative of a closer proximity to the Sun. The
same holds true for the other chondrite groups and they can be placed into a
continuous sequence along with the ordinary chondrites. On one extreme,
we find the highly reduced enstatite, or E chondrites that must have formed
more closely to the Sun than the H, L, or LL chondrites. At the other
extreme, we find the highly oxidized rumurutiites, or R chondrites that attest
to a formation further from the Sun. We will elaborate on both groups below.
Finally, we'd like to introduce two other groups or grouplets of chondrites
that don't easily fit into existing schemes. The kakangariites, or K chondrites
consist of only three members, while the forsterite, or F chondrites are a
more hypothetical grouplet. Its "members" are merely inclusions that have
been found as xenoliths inside certain brecciated achondrites.
E Group
The chondrites of this group are named for their primary mineral, enstatite,
and they differ in many respects from ordinary and carbonaceous chondrites.
They must have formed in an oxygen-depleted environment because nearly
all of the iron in E chondrites is present in its reduced, metallic form. Even
the pyroxene is depleted in iron, and consequently, it is only found as the
pure magnesium-rich end-member - enstatite. After taking into
consideration all of the possible pairings among the meteorites recovered in
the strewn fields of Africa and in Antarctica, approximately 90 different E
chondrites have been identified.
Similar to the ordinary chondrites, the enstatite chondrites have been

further subdivided based on their content of total iron; members of the EL
group contain less iron than members of the EH group. Moreover, there are
mineralogical aspects that separate the two groups. The EL chondrites show
petrologic types 3 to 7, and there is a distinct peak at the equilibrated type
6. The members of the EH subgroup exhibit petrologic types from 3 to 6 with
a less distinct peak at the unequilibrated type 3.
Despite the differences, most researchers believe that both subgroups
originated on the same asteroid, most probably representing different layers
of the parent body. Some scientists think that we should look for this
asteroid inside the orbit of Venus or even Mercury since the E chondrites
formed under highly reducing conditions in an oxygen-depleted
environment. Other researchers suggest that a formation in the inner
asteroid belt would have provided the same conditions in the early solar
system. A more recent comparison of the reflectance spectra of different
asteroids to the spectrum of the EH chondrite Abee suggests that the main
belt asteroid 16 Psyche might be the common parent for the enstatite
chondrites. >> top...
R Group
This group was formerly known as the Carlisle Lakes group, for a meteorite
that was found in Australia in 1977. It is now named for the type specimen
Rumuruti that fell in Kenya, Africa, in 1934. Rumuruti is the only witnessed
fall of this group and just one small individual has been preserved in the
collection of the Humboldt Museum Berlin, Germany, since 1938. It was
thought to be an anomalous chondrite until it was reclassified in 1993 and
the R group was formed. There are just 25 R chondrites known if we exclude
all probable pairings.
Most R chondrites belong to petrologic type 3 or are heavily brecciated

members that show different lithologies from petrologic type 3 to 6. There
are only a few R chondrites of higher petrologic types that are not
brecciated, e.g. our find Ouzina, an R4 from Morocco. The R chondrites are
quite different from ordinary chondrites and they are the opposite of the E
chondrites when it comes to mineralogy and their state of oxidation. The
members of this group are highly oxidized, containing high amounts of iron-
rich olivine. There is practically no free metal inside the R chondrites since
most of the iron is either oxidized or found in the form of iron sulfides. The
iron-rich olivines, along with the oxidized nature of the iron, give most R
chondrites a typical red appearance. However, some fresh and
unequilibrated R3 chondrites, such as our new find, NWA 753, show a light-
greyer coloured matrix.
The meteorites of this group contain fewer chondrules than ordinary

chondrites or enstatite chondrites, but they often contain xenolithic
inclusions that indicate a regolith origin, representing samples of the surface
of an asteroid. Another indicator for a regolith origin is the fact that most
members of the R group contain high amounts of noble gases implanted into
the rock by the solar wind. The parent body of the R chondrites has yet to be
found, but it surely must have been subjected to many impact events during
its history resulting in the high degree of brecciation that most R group
members exhibit. >> top...
K Group
The chondrites of this grouplet are named for their type specimen
Kakangari, a meteorite that fell in Tamil Nadu, India, in 1890. There are just
three K chondrites known: Kakangari, Lea County 002, and LEW 87232.
With a total known weight below 400 grams, they represent one of the most
rare meteorite groups found on Earth and we dearly hope that additional K
chondrites will show up in the wealth of new meteorites that are currently
found in the deserts of Northwest Africa and Oman.
All K chondrites so far known belong to the unequilibrated petrologic type 3.

They are rich in the iron sulfide, troilite, and show numerous primitive,
armored chondrules. They are unique in their chemical composition and
show an oxygen-isotopic signature that distinguishes them from all other
chondrite groups and clans. All of this indicates that the K chondrites must
have had their origin in a small, primitive parent body that has yet to be
identified. >> top...
F Group
This strange grouplet is known solely from certain lithologies that have been
found in two achondrites, both members of the aubrite group: ALH 78113
from Antarctica, and Cumberland Falls, a meteorite that fell in Kentucky,
USA, in 1919. Both are polymict breccias that contain dark clasts of
chondritic material that does not fit into any established chondrite group or
clan. Those clasts have been provisionally named for the fact that the olivine
found in these lithologies consists of the pure magnesium-rich end-member
of olivine called forsterite. Hence, the grouplet was named forsterite group
or F chondrites.
All F lithologies are highly unequilibrated and can be assigned to petrologic

type 3. Their mineralogy and oxidation state places the F chondrites between
the H group of the ordinary chondrites and the E chondrites. When it comes
to their origin, it is believed that they are derived from a small and primitive
asteroid of F chondritic composition that collided with the aubrite parent
body short after their formation in the early solar system. >> top...
Achondrites
The term "achondrite" is used to describe a stony meteorite without chondrules, and this lack of chondru
least one type of achondrite contains distinct chondrules. These exceptions mark transitions from one cl
differentiation of larger asteroids and planets, this primordial chondritic matter was melted and recrysta
The achondrites in our collections are samples of other differentiated worlds, and therefore represent a
residues from partial melting that took place on small parent bodies having chondritic compositions. Foll
Other, more evolved achondrites, have experienced a more extensive igneous processing including mag
magnesium-rich plutonic rocks that formed in deeper regions of the crust and experienced prolonged th
Several groups of evolved achondrites can be assigned to specific parent bodies. The meteorites of the H
while a few can be assigned to larger parent bodies - the true planets and their moons.
The rare meteorites of the LUN group are genuine pieces of our own Moon - a fact that has been proven
believed to have their origin on our red neighbor, the planet Mars. These meteorites represent highly ev
PAC Group - Primitive Achondrites
The abbreviation "PAC" stands for "primitive achondrites", a group that

comprises vastly different subgroups of meteorites that have only one thing
in common - they all resemble their chondritic ancestors to varying degrees
in both composition and mineralogy. They probably formed on small
chondritic parent bodies and were only partially melted and differentiated
through accretion processes or from impact events, and then rapidly cooled.
Primitive achondrites then experienced varying degrees of melting, thermal
processing, and recrystallization.
Acapulcoites
The name of this small group of primitive achondrites is derived from its only
witnessed fall, the meteorite of Acapulco that fell in Mexico in 1976. Since its
composition is nearly chondritic, Acapulco was initially classified as an
anomalous chondrite, although it does not contain any relict chondrules.
However, when similar meteorites were subsequently found, the acapulcoite
group was formed to describe a distinct class of primitive achondrites.
Acapulcoites mark the transition between primordial chondritic matter and
more differentiated rocks. The acapulcoite group presently comprises 12
members, if one excludes probable pairings.
Acapulcoites are composed primarily of fine-grained olivine, orthopyroxene,

minor plagioclase, nickel-iron metal, and the iron sulfide, troilite. They have
mineral compositions that are intermediate between those of E and H
chondrites, but they exhibit a characteristic oxygen isotopic pattern distinct
from all other known chondrite groups. Importantly, some acapulcoites have
been shown to contain a few relict chondrules such as the meteorite of
Monument Draw, Texas, and one member actually exhibits an abundance of
distinct chondrules - our recent find from Tissemoumine, Morocco, officially
named NWA 725. This unique acapulcoite is actually a scientific sensation,
and it is one of our best finds. The presence of distinct chondrules within
NWA 725 attests to the fact that the acapulcoites represent an extremely
primitive group, a true transition between chondrites and achondrites. It is
thought that they originated on the same parent body as the closely related
lodranites, another class of primitive achondrites. >> top...
Lodranites
This group of primitive achondrites is named for the type specimen, Lodran,
a meteorite that fell in Pakistan in 1868. There are only 12 members in this
group, and nearly all of them have been found in the blue-ice fields of
Antarctica. It is somewhat of a mystery why except NWA 2235 no new
lodranite specimens have been discovered thus far as part of the wealth of
new meteorites coming from the hot deserts of Africa and Asia.
Initially, the lodranites were grouped with the stony-iron meteorites since
they contain components of both stony material, consisting of olivine,
orthopyroxene, and minor plagioclase, and nickel-iron metal in nearly equal
proportions. However, since the discovery of the closely related acapulcoite
group, the lodranites have been classified as primitive achondrites. Because
both groups share similar mineralogical and oxygen isotopic compositions, it
is thought that they are derived from the same parent body, most likely an
S-type asteroid that has not yet been identified. Lodranites have coarser-
grained olivines and pyroxenes and experienced higher temperatures than
acapulcoites; these facts indicate that the lodranites have their origin within
the deeper layers of the acapulcoite/lodranite parent body where they were
subjected to a more intense and prolonged thermal processing. >> top...
Brachinites
The brachinites form another small group of primitive achondrites. They are
named for the type specimen, Brachina, a meteorite that was found in
Australia in 1974. Originally, the olivine-rich Brachina was thought to be a
second chassignite, a unique Martian meteorite that contains primarily
olivine. However, further research revealed a distinct trace-element pattern
as well as a unique oxygen isotopic composition for Brachina. Today, the
brachinite group includes seven members.
Brachinites are composed primarily of small, equigranular olivine grains, but

scattered among them we find small amounts of clinopyroxene,
orthopyroxene, and minor plagioclase. Metal is rare or completely absent
although the brachinites contain up to 20% total iron, mostly in the form of
iron-rich olivine. Recent studies of the olivine compositions of different
asteroids suggest that 289 Nenetta might be the parent body of the
members of this group.
Still, there are those ungrouped primitive achondrites such as Divnoe and
Zag (b) that are very close to the brachinite group even though they contain
larger amounts of free nickel-iron, troilite, and chromite. It has not yet been
determined if these ungrouped primitive members originated on the same
parent body as the brachinites and simply represent different degrees of
thermal processing. Alternatively, they may have originated on one or more
different parent bodies that share a similar history and composition to the
brachinites. We will briefly discuss those brachinite-like primitive achondrites
in the "ungrouped" section below. >> top...
Winonaites
The winonaites represent another class of primitive achondrites, and they

are named for a most unusual find. The meteorite of Winona was found in a
stone cist in the ruins of the prehistoric Elden pueblo, Arizona, USA, in 1928.
The circumstances of the find suggest that the builders of the pueblo kept
and venerated the meteorite as a sacred object after they had actually seen
it fall. Even modern science has to admit that Winona is indeed something
special; it became the namesake for a rare group of primitive achondrites
comprising about 10 members, after excluding probable pairings.
Winonaites are composed largely of fine-grained pyroxenes, minor

magnesium-rich olivine, the iron-sulfide troilite, and nickel-iron metal. The
total iron content ranges between 18% and 30% among members of this
group, possibly a factor of the close relationship that exists between the
winonaites and silicate inclusions in IAB iron meteorites. These silicate
inclusions are very similar to the winonaites in chemistry and mineralogy,
and they exhibit the same unique oxygen isotopic composition. Recent
research suggests that both the winonaites and IAB irons originated on the
same parent body - a partially differentiated asteroid that was disrupted just
as it began to form an iron core and a silicate-rich crust. This disrupting
impact mixed silicates into molten nickel-iron forming the silicated IAB irons,
and mixed olivine-rich residues of partial melts into unmelted silicates,
forming the winonaites.
Interestingly, three of the winonaites have such anomalous characteristics

that they don't fit easily into the group; these include the only witnessed fall
of the group, Pontlyfni, Yamato 74025, and NWA 516. The latter meteorite is
a new winonaite from Morocco that might be paired with one of our new
finds. When compared to the other winonaites, they form a distinct grouplet
that shows textural, mineralogical, and chemical differences indicative of a
lower degree of thermal processing. In fact, Pontlyfni was even found to
contain relict chondrules. Further research will reveal whether these
meteorites represent different degrees of thermal processing on a common
parent body, as supposed for the acapulcoites/lodranites, or rather, are
samples of a separate parent body that formed in a common region of the
primordial solar nebula, experiencing a similar igneous history. >> top...
Ureilites
The ureilites are named for Novo Urei, a rural village in the Mordova
Republic, Russia, where several meteorites fell in late 1886. It has been
reported that one stone was soon recovered by local peasants - but not to
preserve it for science. On the contrary, the stone was immediately broken
apart and eaten! The report does not reveal the reason for this odd
behaviour - maybe they ate it because the freshly fallen meteorite smelled
good, or perhaps because it had the typical shape of a loaf of bread, which a
ureilite often resembles. However, not all of the stones were eaten, and
Novo Urei became the type specimen of one of the best-represented
achondrite groups in our collections. The ureilite group comprises about 60
members, again, excluding all probable pairings from the hot deserts of
Africa and the ice fields of Antarctica.
The ureilites are subdivided into two groups: the monomict main group and
the less common polymict group. Main group ureilites are composed largely
of coarse-grained olivine and minor pyroxene, mostly in the form of calcium-
poor pigeonite, set in a dark carbonaceous matrix of graphite and diamond,
nickel-iron metal, and troilite. Our recent find, El Gouanem, Morocco, is a
rather typical member of the main group. Polymict ureilites consist of a
mixture of different lithologies. Besides clasts from main group ureilites,
they contain magmatic inclusions, dark carbonaceous clasts, chondritic
fragments of different origins, and various other inclusions. This suggests a
surface or regolith origin for the polymict ureilites, an assumption that is
supported by the values for noble gases that have been implanted into the
regolith by the solar wind.
However, both the origin and the formation history of the ureilites remain
enigmatic. Their mineral and oxygen isotopic compositions suggest that they
formed as residues from partial melting, and therefore represent primitive
achondrites that probably formed on several parent bodies. On the other
hand, rare-element patterns and other chemical characteristics indicate that
ureilites are highly fractionated igneous rocks that formed in different
regions of the same parent body; probably a moderately differentiated C-
type asteroid that was disrupted by an impact event and then rapidly cooled.
An impact history would also explain the occurrence of high-pressure
minerals such as diamond and londsdaleite that are formed by intense shock
metamorphism. Even this theory is not without its problems though.
Recently, a new ureilite from the Libyan Sahara named DaG 868 was found
to contain diamonds, but paradoxically, appears to be nearly unshocked.
Other ureilites, like our new NWA 766, contain exotic minerals like
chromium-spinel, chromium-rich garnet, and associated glasses. These
unusual specimens present more questions than they answer regarding the
ureilite puzzle. Further research is needed to unravel the mystery of the
origin of the ureilites and the complex history of their parent body. >> top...
Ungrouped Primitive Achondrites
Some primitive achondrites don't easily fit into the existing groups. We
already mentioned Divnoe and Zag (b), two ferroan achondrites closely
related to the brachinites. They share similar compositions, but show
different oxygen isotopic patterns suggesting that Zag (b) might represent a
missing link between the brachinites, Divnoe, and the lodranites. The
implications of this find are currently poorly understood, and further
research will be required to show how these primitive achondrites are
related to each other.
Some other interesting primitive achondrites are only represented by a

single find, providing inadequate justification for the establishment of a new
group. For example, two new primitive enstatite achondrites, Zaklodzie,
Poland, and Itqiy, Western Sahara, are unique in mineral composition.
Although they both are composed largely of the magnesium-rich pyroxene,
enstatite, and nickel-iron metal, the texture of Zaklodzie resembles an
acapulcoite while that of Itqiy is more like a lodranite. They probably both
represent samples of moderately differentiated, E chondrite parent bodies
that experienced similar differentiation processes such as that which
occurred on the acapulcoite/lodranite parent body. >> top...
LUN Group - Lunar Meteorites
The LUN group is a most intriguing class of achondrites since

its members represent different types of lunar rocks, i.e.,
genuine pieces of the Moon. Scientists have speculated for
centuries about the possibility that some of the meteorites in
our collections might actually be of lunar origin, and some
researchers even believed the enigmatic tektites were the
products of major volcanic eruptions on the Moon. Finally,
with the return of lunar samples by the Apollo and Luna
missions in the 1960's and 1970's, it was thought that a
definitive test for these ideas was now available. However,
subsequent comparisons yielded no match to either tektites or
any group of achondrites, and it would take an additional
decade before the first lunar meteorite would be identified.
In the late 1970's, Japanese and American researchers

recognized the ice fields of Antarctica as a promising hunting
ground for meteorites, with the subsequent recovery of
thousands of new meteorites; among these, several lunar
meteorites, or "lunaites", have been identified. These are
mostly small stones resembling certain samples returned by
the Apollo missions. In 1990, a small stone weighing just 19
grams was found in Calcalong Creek, Australia. It was
thereafter recognized as the first non-Antarctic lunaite. During
the past four years, professional meteorite hunters have
recovered several more lunaites from the hot deserts of Africa
and Oman. Today, the LUN group comprises about 25
members, excluding all probable pairings, with a total known
weight of about 8.5 kg (have a look at our list of lunar
meteorites).
Lunar meteorites are of major scientific importance because

they probably originate from areas of the Moon that were not
sampled by the Apollo or Luna missions. Most lunaites in our
collections obviously have been blasted from the lunar
highlands that cover the far side of the Moon. Only a few lunar
meteorites have their origin from the smooth lowlands, the
maria of the near side, which served as the preferred landing
sites for the Apollo missions. Four different types of lunar
rocks have been sampled in the form of meteorites thus far:
anorthositic highland rocks (LUN A), mare basalts (LUN B),
mare gabbros (LUN G), and a unique lunar norite (LUN N),
representing the deep, olivine-rich layers of the lunar crust. All
of these meteorites share the typical features of lunar rocks,
e.g., similar manganese to iron ratios, and oxygen isotopic
compositions that plot on the terrestrial fractionation line. We
will discuss each group of lunar meteorites below. >> top...
LUN A - Anorthositic Highland Rocks
The members of this group are designated "LUN A" for their
mineral compositions. They are anorthosites, consisting
primarily of calcium-rich plagioclase with only minor pyroxene
and olivine. Originally, they were coarse-grained, plutonic
rocks, forming the ancient highlands that dominate both sides
of the Moon. Over time, these rocks were thoroughly
granulated, heavily brecciated, and partially melted by
impacts, leading to the establishment of three subtypes of
lunar anorthosites - regolith breccias, impact-melt breccias,
and fragmental breccias.
Regolith breccias: The lunar surface is covered by a thick

regolith layer, and consequently, most lunaites are polymict
regolith breccias. These rocks consist of abundant white clasts
of anorthositic rock and minor dark clasts of highland basalts,
combined with various mineral and glass fragments, and
mixed with a dark matrix of solidified rock powder. This
regolith also contains traces of meteoritic material from many
impactors, as well as characteristic amounts of solar wind-
implanted noble gases. Typical anorthositic regolith breccias
are ALH 81005, the first meteorite recognized as a lunar rock,
Dar al Gani 262, the first Saharan lunaite, and Dhofar 025, a
recent find from Oman. However, some atypical members also
contain abundant inclusions of lunar mare lithologies, e.g., the
famous Calcalong Creek. It consists of approximately 50%
highland anorthosite, 20% KREEP basalt, and 15% low-
titanium mare basalt, together with other minerals that are
typical for the lunar maria. Calcalong Creek can be regarded
as a transitional specimen between anorthositic highland
regoliths and mare basalt regoliths. Recent research suggests
that it probably formed between the lunar highlands and
Oceanus Procellarum, one of the largest basaltic basins on the
near side of the Moon.
Impact-melt breccias: The lunaites of this group are

polymict breccias displaying characteristics of severe shock-
metamorphism, partial melting, and recrystallization,
suggesting that they are the products of larger impact events.
Compositionally, they are similar to other anorthositic
lunaites, and they consist primarily of plagioclase and minor
accessory minerals. The members of this subgroup, such as
Dar al Gani 400, Dhofar 026, and the beautiful white-colored
NWA 482, were all recovered from the hot deserts of Africa
and Oman during the last four years.
Fragmental breccias: The rare members of this subgroup

are polymict breccias that, at least superficially, resemble
anorthositic regolith breccias. They are composed of
anorthositic rock fragments and other, mostly felsic, clasts, in
a fine-grained matrix of pyroxene and olivine. However, they
lack the regolith components and the implanted noble gases
characteristic of other regolith breccias. Obviously, they
represent the deeper layers of the lunar surface, of which only
a few members are known. The only anorthositic fragmental
breccia available to the collector is Dhofar 081 and its pairing,
Dhofar 280. Both meteorites were found in close proximity to
each other, and similarities in structure and composition
suggest that they both are part of a single fall. >> top...
LUN B - Mare Basalts
The members of this group are mare basalts, consisting of

phenocrysts of olivine and augite, set within a fine-grained
matrix of plagioclase and pyroxene. The accessory minerals
include chromite, ilmenite, apatite, troilite, and minor nickel-
iron metal. Lunar mare basalts are much younger than the
anorthositic highland rocks. They were formed during volcanic
eruptions within large basins, mostly located on the near side
of the Moon, their shapes delineating the imaginary face of
the "Man in the Moon". Large portions of this pristine basaltic
crust have been transformed into a regolith by ongoing
meteorite bombardment. Consequently, most LUN B members
are mare basalt regolith breccias, e.g., the Antarctic lunaites
Yamato 793274, Yamato 981031, and QUE 94281. Similarly,
most other mare basalts are also heavily brecciated,
containing notable regolith portions. Still, there is one
unbrecciated member known - the pristine mare basalt NWA
032, and its pairing NWA 479. The latter meteorite was
recovered by our team near Khter n'Ait Khebbach, Morocco, in
November 2000, and is one of our most unusual finds. Recent
research suggests that this unique mare basalt crystallized
just 2.8 billion years ago, providing evidence for a prolonged
lunar volcanism and making this one of the youngest lunar
basalts analyzed so far. >> top...
LUN G - Mare Gabbros
Only two meteorites belong to the classification of "LUN G",

which stands for lunar mare gabbros. They consist primarily of
plagioclase and pyroxene, with minor accessory minerals such
as iron-titanium oxides and sulfides. Although they closely
resemble low-titanium mare basalts in their bulk
compositions, pyroxene compositional trends, and
petrography, they display much coarser grain sizes and a
cumulate intergrowth. This suggests formation from similar
magmas that were trapped in magma chambers or deeper
layers of the lunar surface. These magmas experienced lower
cooling rates, resulting in a prolonged crystal growth and the
formation of cumulate, gabbroic textures. Both members of
this group are Antarctic finds. The first member, Yamato
793169, is a polymict breccia that was initially misclassified as
a polymict eucrite. Not until it was re-examined in the early
1980's did it become obvious that this meteorite represented
a rare type of lunar gabbroic rock. Although this small stone
contains no obvious regolith components, the presence of
abundant solar wind-implanted noble gases indicates that it
was once part of a regolith. It probably represents a single
clast that has been preserved during its passage to Earth. The
second member, Asuka 881757, is a coarse-grained cumulate;
a typical gabbroic rock representing one of the few
unbrecciated lunar meteorites. >> top...
LUN N - Lunar Norites
This group represents a previously unsampled type of lunar

rock, and it consists of just one single find, the unique NWA
773. Three stones with a total weight of 633 grams, found
near Dchira, Western Sahara, have proved to be a scientific
sensation. NWA 773 is a polymict breccia, consisting of two
distinct lithologies - a cumulate, olivine-rich gabbronorite, and
a dark regolith breccia. The cumulate portion consists of
olivine (51%), pyroxene (22%), plagioclase (14%), alkali
feldspar (1.5%), and accessory minerals, e.g., chromite,
ilmenite, troilite, and nickel-iron metal. The regolith breccia
contains fragments of the norite portion, basaltic clasts, and
accessory mineral fragments set in a fine, granular matrix.
Lunar norites have never been sampled by the Luna or Apollo
missions, but remote sensing techniques across most parts of
the lunar surface have identified several norite-rich sites that
might prove to be the source of NWA 773. A possible source is
the Aitken basin on the far side of the Moon - a large impact
structure near the lunar South Pole that is famous for its
noritic composition and secondary impact craters, and for the
appropriately named "Olivine Hill". The large impact that
excavated the Aitken basin removed the upper crust,
revealing the lower crustal layers that would become the
source of olivine-rich cumulates such as norites and
gabbronorites. Continued research on NWA 773 and other
lunar meteorites will certainly complete our picture of the
Moon and its formation history - a history that is inseparably
linked to the formation history of its nearest neighbor, the
planet Earth. >> top...
Complete List of Lunar Meteorites:
Nr. Lunar Meteorite Found Country Lunar Rock Type TKW / g
LUN A;
1 Yamato 791197 1979 Antarctica 52.4
highland regolith breccia
LUN G;
mare gabbro
Yamato 793274 1980 LUN B; 8.7

3 Antarctica
Yamato 981031 1998 mare basalt regolith breccia 186.0
LUN A;
4 ALH 81005 1982 Antarctica 31.4
Yamato 82192 1982 36.7

LUN A;
highland fragmental breccia
Yamato 86032 1986 648.4
EET 87521 1987 LUN B; 30.7

6 Antarctica
EET 96008 1996 mare basalt breccia 53.0
LUN G;
7 Asuka 881757 1988 Antarctica 442.1
unbrecciated mare gabbro
MAC 88104 1989 LUN A; 61.2

8 Antarctica
MAC 88105 1989 highland regolith breccia 662.5
QUE 93069 1993 LUN A; 21.4
9 Antarctica
QUE 94269 1994 highland regolith breccia 3.2
LUN B;
10 QUE 94281 1994 Antarctica 23.4
mare basalt regolith breccia
LUN A;
LUN A;
12 Yamato 1153 ? Antarctica ?
LUN A;
13 Calcalong Creek 1990 Australia 19.0
highland/mare regolith breccia
LUN A;
14 Dar al Gani 262 1997 Libya 513.0
LUN A;
15 Dar al Gani 400 1998 Libya 1425.0
highland impact-melt breccia
LUN A;
16 Dhofar 025 2000 Oman 751.0
LUN A;
17 Dhofar 026 2000 Oman 148.0
Dhofar 081 1999 LUN A; 174.0

18 Oman
Dhofar 280 2001 highland fragmental breccia 251.2
NWA 032 1999 LUN B; ~300.0

19 Morocco
NWA 479 2001 unbrecciated mare basalt 156.0
LUN A;
20 NWA 482 2000 Algeria 1015.0
LUN N;
21 NWA 773 2000 Western Sahara 633.0
cumulate gabbronorite
LUN B;
22 Dhofar 287 2001 Oman 154.0
mare basalt breccia
LUN A;
23 Dhofar 301 2001 Oman 9.0
LUN A;
24 Dhofar 302 2001 Oman 3.8
LUN A;
25 Dhofar 303 2001 Oman 4.1
Dating back to the early days of meteoritics, the class of stony-iron meteorites represents a
somewhat anachronistic category. It comprises several chemically and genetically unrelated
classes of meteorites that have just one thing in common - they are composed of
approximately equal parts of nickel-iron metal and different types of stony components.
Several groups of chondrites and achondrites would fit neatly into this definition, e.g. the
bencubbinites or the lodranites, and several silicated irons could be regarded as true stony-
irons too. However, modern meteoritics assigns just two groups to this heterogeneous class,
the pallasites and the mesosiderites, both detailed below.
Stony-iron meteorites are less abundant than their stony and iron cousins are. Taken
together, all pallasites and mesosiderites comprise a total known weight of about 10 tons,
representing approximately 1.8% of the entire mass of all meteorites known. This low
abundance is also reflected by their fall-ratio; when compared to the other major types of
meteorites, stony-irons are exceptionally rare, representing just 1.5% of all witnessed falls.
Pallasites
The meteorites of this group are named for the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas. In the
late 18th century, he was invited by the Russian emperor, Catharina the Great, to explore
the vast areas of Siberia. In 1772 during one of his travels, he studied a large iron mass
that had earlier been found in the mountains near Krasnojarsk. This unusual mass contained
large olivine crystals set in an iron matrix, strange enough to catch Pallas' attention. He
thoroughly described the unusual find in one of his reports, not knowing that it was a
genuine rock from space. Some decades later, in the early days of meteoritics, it became
obvious that Pallas had discovered a new type of meteorite. Thereafter, all similar stony-
irons were named for him, and the type specimen of the pallasite group, Krasnojarsk,
became known as the "Pallas Iron".
Modern meteoriticists use the term "pallasite" to describe a certain structural class of stony-
iron meteorites that contains abundant silicate inclusions in a nickel-iron matrix. Usually,
the silicates are large olivine crystals, often of gem quality. These peridots make the
pallasites some of the most attractive meteorites known, and cut and polished pallasite
slices are highly coveted among meteorite collectors. Sometimes pallasites and pallasitic
peridots are used in jewelry, making them the only genuine cosmic gemstones on Earth.
Based on their origin and formation history, the pallasites are regarded as samples of
core/mantle boundary material from differentiated asteroids, inferring that a close
relationship exists to the iron meteorites. Upon etching, larger metal portions of polished
slices display typical Widmanstätten figures. In addition to this, pallasites display chemical,
elemental, and isotopic trends that link them to specific chemical groups of iron meteorites,
linking their origin to a common parent body. Hence, they are classified into three distinct
groups or grouplets, similar to the chemical groups of the iron meteorites: (1) the main
group pallasites, (2) the Eagle Station grouplet, and (3) the pyroxene grouplet. >> top...
Main Group Pallasites
Comprising about 40 members, the main group pallasites represent the most abundant
class. They contain varying amounts of magnesium-rich olivine crystals set in a nickel-iron
matrix, usually displaying an olivine-to-metal volume ratio of about 2 to 1. The olivine
crystals have typical diameters of 0.5 to 2 cm, and the nickel-iron matrix displays medium
Widmanstätten figures upon etching. Boundary regions between metal and olivine often
contain accessory minerals such as troilite, schreibersite, and chromite. The elemental and
oxygen isotopic compositions of the nickel-iron metal are similar to the values determined
for group IIIAB irons, suggesting a common parent body for both groups. Famous main
group pallasites include Krasnojarsk, Brenham, Brahin, Imilac, and the most beautiful,
Esquel. The main group also comprises the only three witnessed pallasite falls, one of which
is the renowned and visually attractive Marjalahti, a meteorite that fell in the Karelian
Republic, Russia, in 1902. >> top...
Eagle Station Pallasites
This grouplet is named for a pallasite that was found near Eagle Station, Kentucky, in 1880,
and consists of just three members - Eagle Station, Cold Bay and Itzawisis. They all contain
highly fragmented olivines, intermixed with small, irregular olivine splinters, in a nickel-iron
matrix. The olivine is extraordinarily iron-rich, and the metal consists of higher nickel
content than any other pallasites. As in the main group members, accessories are present in
the form of troilite, schreibersite, and chromite. The elemental and oxygen isotopic
compositions of Eagle Station nickel-iron are similar to that of IIF irons, and both groups
probably share a common parent body. Another very interesting isotopic link exists between
the Eagle Station trio and the carbonaceous chondrites of the CO/CV clan. This data
suggests that the IIF/Eagle Station parent body may have originated in the same nebular
region in which the CV chondrite parent body formed - perhaps even inside of this very
asteroid. >> top...
Pyroxene Pallasites
This is another small grouplet, consisting of just two members - the pyroxene-rich, Antarctic
pallasite, Yamato 8451, and Vermillion, an unusual pallasite that was found in Kansas, USA,
in 1991. Both pallasites contain minor clinopyroxenes, which occur as inclusions in the
olivine crystals, as large grains in the nickel-iron matrix, and as grains bordering the
olivines. They share similar elemental and isotopic compositions distinct from the main
group and Eagle Station pallasites, indicating that Yamato 8451 and Vermillion represent a
third parent body on which pallasites were formed. Comparisons made to the groups of iron
meteorites yielded no match, inferring that the pyroxene pallasites represent a previously
unsampled asteroid. >> top...
Ungrouped Pallasites
A number of pallasites are so unique that they can't be accommodated in any of the
established groups or grouplets. A renowned example is the beautiful Springwater pallasite,
found in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1931. It shows abundant, small, rounded olivine crystals
in an ungrouped nickel-iron matrix, suggesting a formation on a distinct, previously
unsampled parent body. Another famous ungrouped member is the gorgeous Glorieta
Mountain pallasite. Many individuals of this olivine-poor pallasite have been found since
1884 near Canonçito, New Mexico, USA. Glorieta Mountain displays elemental and isotopic
compositions similar to those found in the group IIICD irons, suggesting a possible common
parent body for Glorieta Mountain and the IIICD members. >> top...
Mesosiderites
The mesosiderites are named for the Greek words mesos for "middle" or "half", and sideros
for "iron", meaning "half iron". In fact, they are typical stony-iron meteorites, consisting of
approximately equal portions of nickel-iron metal and silicates. Excluding all probable
pairings, the mesosiderite group comprises about 50 distinct members, while seven
members represent witnessed falls.
Texturally, mesosiderites are a complex mixture of a nickel-iron metal portion and a heavily
brecciated silicate portion, consisting of mostly pyroxene and plagioclase. Strangely, the
silicates are obviously evolved igneous rocks, representing the crust of an achondritic parent
body. They are quite similar to eucrites, diogenites, and other members of the HED group,
even plotting on the same oxygen isotope fractionation line. However, the metal in
mesosiderites is similar to group IIIAB irons, obviously representing the core of a distinct,
differentiated asteroid, genetically unrelated to the precursor of the eucritic and diogenitic
portion. This suggests a complex formation history for the mesosiderites and their parent
body. One theory has them formed by the collision of two differentiated asteroids, allowing
the still liquid core of one asteroid to mix with the solidified crust of the other. This scenario
includes the collisional disruption and gravitational reassembly of at least one of the
asteroids - the one that later became the parent body of the mesosiderites. It is still heavily
debated whether the HED parent body, 4 Vesta, actually represents one of these asteroids.
Based on textural and mineralogical differences, the mesosiderites have been divided into
four distinct groups that were further divided into subgroups. These groups are designated
1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B. However, there seems to be no scientific consensus
about this classification scheme, as it has been differently interpreted by different
researchers. To avoid any confusion, we won't elaborate on this matter. Famous members
of the mesosiderite group are the witnessed falls of Estherville, Iowa, USA, in 1879, and
Lowicz, Poland, in 1935. Another renowned member is Vaca Muerta, a find from Chile.
Several hundred individuals of this well-preserved mesosiderite have been recovered from
its strewn field in the Atacama Desert, making it the most common mesosiderite in private
and public collections. >> top...
Iron Meteorites
Prior to the age of professional meteorite hunting in hot
deserts and their robotic recovery in the ice fields of
Antarctica, most meteorite finds were irons. Due to their
metallic composition and their extraordinary weight, even a
layman can tell them from ordinary rocks, and they are easily
recognized as foreign intruders. Moreover, most iron
meteorites are quite resistant to terrestrial weathering,
permitting them to be preserved much longer than any other
type of meteorite. Finally, irons are usually much larger than
stony or stony-iron meteorites. Irons rarely are fragmented
upon entering the atmosphere and suffer much less from the
effects of ablation during their passage through the
atmosphere. In fact, the largest meteorites are irons; have a
look at our charts. All iron meteorites taken together comprise
a total known weight of more than 500 tons, and they
represent approximately 89.3% of the entire mass of all
meteorites known. Despite these facts, iron meteorites are
rare since they represent just 5.7% of all witnessed falls.
Iron meteorites are composed largely of nickel-iron metal, and

most contain only minor accessory minerals. These accessory
minerals often occur in rounded nodules that consist of the
iron-sulfide troilite or graphite, often surrounded by the iron-
phosphide schreibersite and the iron-carbide cohenite. Despite
the fact that some iron meteorites contain silicate inclusions,
most have fundamentally the same superficial appearance.
Presently, iron meteorites are classified under two established

systems. Just a few decades ago, iron meteorites were
exclusively classified according to the macroscopic structures
revealed when their polished surface was etched with nitric
acid. Depending on these structures, they were separated into
three classes: octahedrites, hexahedrites, and ataxites.
Beyond that, modern research employs very sophisticated
tools such as electron microprobes and X-ray spectroscopes,
devices that enable us to detect minute amounts of trace
elements such as germanium, gallium, or iridium. Based on
the specific concentrations of these trace elements and their
correlation with the overall nickel content, iron meteorites are
classified into several chemical groups, and each group is
thought to represent a unique parent body. We will elaborate
on the different classification schemes and groups of iron
meteorites below.
Structural Classification of Iron Meteorites
Nickel-iron metal in iron meteorites occurs in the form of two

distinct alloys. The most common alloy is kamacite, named for
the Greek word for "beam". Kamacite contains 4 to 7.5%
nickel, and it forms large crystals that appear like broad bands
or beam-like structures on the etched surface of an iron
meteorite. The other alloy is called taenite for the Greek word
for "ribbon". Taenite contains 27 to 65% nickel, and it usually
forms smaller crystals that appear as highly reflecting thin
ribbons on the surface of an etched iron. Depending on the
occurrence and the distribution of these nickel-iron alloys,
etched iron meteorites display characteristic structures that
are used to classify iron meteorites into octahedrites,
hexahedrites, and ataxites.
Octahedrites
The most common structure displayed on the etched surface

of iron meteorites is a more or less fine intergrowth of
kamacite and taenite lamellae that intersect one another at
various angles. These fascinating patterns of crisscrossing
bands and ribbons, called "Widmanstätten figures" for their
discoverer, Alois von Widmanstätten, reveal an intergrowth of
larger kamacite and taenite plates. This intergrowth has a
spatial arrangement in the form of an octahedron, and thus,
these iron meteorites are called octahedrites. Spaces between
larger kamacite and taenite plates are often filled by a fine-
grained mixture of kamacite and taenite called plessite, for the
Greek word for "filling". The octahedrites are further divided
into several subgroups based on the width of their kamacite
lamellae, and each subgroup is associated with a particular
chemical class of iron meteorites (see table below). >> top...
Hexahedrites
Hexahedrites consist primarily of kamacite, and they are

named for the way that the crystal structure of kamacite is
arranged according to the spatial form of a hexahedron. Pure
kamacite forms cubic crystals with six equal sides at right
angles to each other, and hexahedrites are actually large,
cubic kamacite crystals. Upon etching, hexahedrites don't
display any Widmanstätten figures, but they often exhibit fine,
parallel lines called "Neumann lines" for their discoverer, Franz
Ernst Neumann, who first studied them in 1848. These lines
represent a shock-induced, structural deformation of the
kamacite plates, and they suggest an impact history for the
hexahedrite parent body, at least for the hexahedrites related
to chemical group IAB (see table below). >> top...
Ataxites
Some iron meteorites reveal no obvious internal structure

upon etching, and they are called ataxites, for the Greek word
for "without structure". Ataxites consist primarily of nickel-rich
taenite, and kamacite is found only in the form of microscopic
lamellae and spindles. Consequently, ataxites represent the
most nickel-rich meteorites known, and are among the most
rare. Among the 50 witnessed iron meteorite falls, none has
been an ataxite; all of the known ataxites are finds.
Paradoxically, the largest meteorite known, Hoba, belongs to
this rare structural class - a strange coincidence that that is
hard to reconcile. >> top...
Relations between structural and chemical groups of

iron meteorites:
Structural class Symbol Kamacite mm Nickel % Related chemical groups
H > 50 4.5 - 6.5 IIAB, IIG

Hexahedrites
Coarsest octahedrites Ogg 3.3 - 50 6.5 - 7.2 IIAB, IIG
Coarse octahedrites Og 1.3 - 3.3 6.5 - 8.5 IAB, IC, IIE, IIIAB, IIIE
Medium octahedrites Om 0.5 - 1.3 7.4 - 10 IAB, IID, IIE, IIIAB, IIIF
Fine octahedrites Of 0.2 - 0.5 7.8 - 13 IID, IIICD, IIIF, IVA
Finest octahedrites Off < 0.2 7.8 - 13 IIC, IIICD
Plessitic octahedrites Opl < 0.2, spindles 9.2 - 18 IIC, IIF
Ataxites D - > 16 IIF, IVB

Classification Index
This page provides a survey of the different classes of meteorites. While the first part
mirrors the systematic classification of meteorites, the second part represents
an alphabetical index. Both parts contain direct hyperlinks leading to the respective
descriptions of each class - just click on a name to get further information. Please use the
back button of your browser to return to the classification index.
Systematic Classification of Meteorites
Stony Meteorites
CI Group (Ivuna-Type)
CM Group (Mighei-Type)
Chondrites Carbonaceous Chondrites
CV Group (Vigarano-Type)
CO Group (Ornans-Type)
CK Group (Karoonda-Type)
CR Group (Renazzo-Type)
CH Group (High-Metal-Type)
CB Group (Bencubbinites)
C Ungrouped (e.g. Coolidge Grouplet)
H Group (High-Iron)
Ordinary Chondrites L Group (Low-Iron)
LL Group (Low-Iron, Low-Metal)
E Group (Enstatite Chondrites)
R Group (Rumurutiites)
Other Chondrites
K Group (Kakangariites)
F Group (Forsterite Chondrites)
Acapulcoites
Lodranites
Brachinites
PAC Group - Primitive Achondrites
Winonaites
Ureilites
Achondrites
Ungrouped Primitive Achondrites
Main Series Eucrites
Stannern Trend Eucrites

HED Group - Meteorites from Vesta Eucrites
Nuevo Laredo Trend Eucrites
Cumulate Eucrites
Polymict Eucrites
Diogenites
Howardites
Angrites
Other Evolved Asteroidal Achondrites
Aubrites
Anorthositic Regolith Breccias
LUN A Anorthositic Impact-Melt Breccias
Anorthositic Fragmental Breccias

LUN Group - Lunar Meteorites
LUN B - Mare Basalts
LUN G - Mare Gabbros
LUN N - Norites
Basaltic Shergottites
Shergottites Lherzolitic Shergottites
Transitional Members
SNC Group - Martian Meteorites
Nakhlites
Chassignites
Orthopyroxenites
Main Group Pallasites
Pallasites Eagle Station Pallasites
Pyroxene Pallasites
Ungrouped Pallasites
Mesosiderites Mesosiderites
Iron Meteorites
Hexahedrites
Structural Classification Octahedrites
Ataxites
IAB Group
IC Group
IIAB Group
IIC Group
IID Group
IIE Group
IIF Group
Chemical Classification IIG Group
IIIAB Group
IIICD Group
IIIE Group
IIIF Group
IVA Group
IVB Group
Ungrouped Irons
Alphabetical Index of Meteorite Classes
IAB iron meteorites CM chondrites LUN N
IC iron meteorites CO chondrites Main series eucrites
IIAB iron meteorites Coolidge Grouplet Mare basalts, lunar
IIC iron meteorites CR chondrites Mare gabbros, lunar
IID iron meteorites Cumulate eucrites Martian meteorites
IIE iron meteorites CV chondrites Mesosiderites
IIF iron meteorites Diogenites Nakhlites
IIG iron meteorites Eagle Station pallasites Norites, lunar
IIIAB iron meteorites E chondrites Nuevo Laredo trend eucrites
IIICD iron meteorites Enstatite chondrites Octahedrites
IIIE iron meteorites Eucrites Ordinary chondrites
IIIF iron meteorites F chondrites Orthopyroxenites, martian
IVA iron meteorites Forsterite chondrites PAC group
IVB iron meteorites Fragmental breccias, lunar Pallasites
Acapulcoites H chondrites Polymict eucrites
Achondrites HED group Primitive achondrites
Angrites Hexahedrites Pyroxene pallasites
Anort. fragmental breccias, lunar Highland rocks, lunar R chondrites
Anort. impact-melt breccias, lunar Howardites Regolith breccias, lunar
Anort. regolith breccias, lunar Impact-melt breccias, lunar Rumurutiites
Ataxites Iron meteorites Shergottites
Aubrites Kakangariites Siderites; iron meteorites
Basaltic shergottites K chondrites SNC group
Bencubbinites L chondrites Stannern trend eucrites
Brachinites Lherzolitic shergottites Stony-iron meteorites

Carbonaceous chondrites LL chondrites Stony meteorites
CB chondrites Lodranites Ungrouped carbon. chondrites
Chassignites LUN A Ungrouped iron meteorites
CH chondrites Lunar meteorites Ungrouped pallasites
Chondrites LUN B Ungrouped primitive achondrites
CI chondrites LUN G Ureilites
CK chondrites LUN group Winonaites
VIII. Tests for Suspected Meteorite Specimens

To help determine if an unusual rock is a candidate for further examination, a set of
questions is listed below which identify the most prominent characteristics of
meteorites.
1. Does the sample have a black or brown surface? (Please, do not clean the surface
or remove any adhering crust on a suspected meteorite sample.)
2. Is the sample solid, without pores or hollow vesicles?
3. Is the sample heavy for its size? Iron meteorites are very dense compared to most
rocks on the Earth's surface.
4. If a corner of the sample is ground slightly, is the interior metallic silver?
5. Is the sample unlike other rocks in the area?
6. Is the sample magnetic? Does it attract a magnet or deflect a compass needle?
If you were able to answer "yes" to all of these questions, then your sample is a good
iron meteorite candidate and warrants further examination. If you were able to answer
yes to the first, fifth, and sixth questions, and the sample resembles one of the stones
shown in Section III, then it too warrants further examination.
If you have a sample that is a candidate for further study, you should take it to your
local science museum or university.
If after taking your sample to a museum or university you are notified that it is not a
meteorite, you should not be discouraged. Many geologic processes, particularly
volcanism, produce rocks with properties grossly similar to those of meteorites. Often
a terrestrial rock and a meteorite can only be distinguished by subtle properties that
may be obvious only to an expert. The types of terrestrial rocks that are often
confused with meteorites include (1) those covered with desert varnish, which is a
dark coating resembling fusion crust but which is produced in part by bacteria in arid
regions; (2) volcanic magnetite or other types of iron oxide minerals which are dense
and have brown surfaces; (3) slag, which are odd-shaped lumps of metal often
confused with iron meteorites, but which were produced by mining and foundry
operations; (4) ventifacts, which have surfaces that have been winnowed by wind and
sand and may resemble meteorites with oriented ablation surfaces or fusion crusts;
and (5) Apache tears, which resemble tektites but are really spherical remnants of
glassy volcanic lava flows. Because of the difficulty in distinguishing meteorites and
related objects from some terrestrial materials, you should not hesitate to contact your
local museum or university if you have another sample that satisfies the criteria
outlined above.
The Structure and Composition of Meteorites

Since meteorites formed through a variety of processes on many different planetary
bodies, they can have substantially different physical and chemical properties. Some
meteorites, particularly primitive chondrites, are quite unlike any other type of rock
found on Earth and can be readily identified. However, other meteorites, particularly
achondrites, were produced by the same types of igneous processes that occur on
Earth and may be very difficult to recognize. To illustrate the variations in their
properties, brief descriptions of the different types of meteorites are given in this
section.
Primitive chondrites
Allende slab
Allende is a carbonaceous chondrite

which fell in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Most of the light-gray objects
visible in this sawn slab are
millimeter-sized chondrules, while
the larger white objects are
These types of meteorites generally have a dark gray refractory inclusions; both are
or black fusion crust and a lighter gray interior. embedded in black matrix material.
This primitive chondrite fell just a
Three basic structural components may be visible on few months before the Apollo 11
broken surfaces. Perhaps the most prominent of these astronauts landed on the Moon,
are chondrules. On a broken surface, parts of these providing a unique opportunity for
millimeter-sized globular bodies may stick out and scientists to test many of the
analytical techniques that they had
look like tiny half-buried eggs. Chondrules are developed to study the lunar
immersed in the second component of primitive samples.
chondrites, which is a fine-grained, often soft,
porous, and gray material, like spongy graphite,
known as matrix. Unequilibrated ordinary chondrites are dominated by chondrules
(up to 80 volume percent), while carbonaceous and enstatite chondrites contain far
fewer chondrules (up to 30 volume percent) and in some cases consist entirely of
matrix material. Both chondrules and matrix material are dominated by the minerals
olivine and pyroxene (or their alteration products). Because these minerals have
densities similar to those of most minerals in the Earth's crust, primitive chondrites
will not feel unusually heavy for their size. However, they may contain small
dispersed grains of metal which will appear as shiny specks on a ground or broken
surface. These metal grains are particularly obvious in some unequilibrated ordinary
chondrites.
The third component of primitive chondrites are refractory inclusions. Some of these
objects are spherical, like chondrules, but typically they lack any well-defined shape
and are thus called amoeboid. Refractory inclusions contain lighter colored minerals,
like feldspar (which is also a major mineral in light-colored terrestrial granites), so
they often look like white patches embedded in the gray matrix. The abundance of
refractory inclusions in primitive chondrites varies; they are almost completely absent
in unequilibrated ordinary and enstatite chondrites, but they may comprise as much as
15 volume percent of carbonaceous chondrites.
Equilibrated chondrites
Most equilibrated chondrites are related to primitive
ordinary chondrites; only a few are related to
primitive carbonaceous or enstatite chondrites.
Although primitive ordinary chondrites are usually
gray, once they have been metamorphosed to an
equilibrated state they may appear off-white, and are
sometimes lightly tinted orange or yellow.
Alternatively, if they have been shocked by impact
processes on the surface of an asteroid, then they
may be quite dark. The fusion crust, if not fresh, is Equilibrated and unequilibrated
often rusty orange. The amount of metal in these ordinary chondrites
samples varies, and in some very weathered
samples, may be completely gone. Such samples Beenham (New Mexico), the
may resemble terrestrial sandstones. When fresh, unequilibrated ordinary chondrite on
the right, has a mottled gray interior
however, shiny metal can be seen scattered consisting mostly of chondrules;
throughout the rock, and in some cases, concentrated bright silver specks of metal can also
in veins. be seen. Khohor (Uttar Pradesh,
India), the metamorphosed
Although these types of meteorites contain metal, equilibrated chondrite on the left, has
a white interior which contrasts
they are dominated by olivine, pyroxene, and sharply with its dark fusion crust.
feldspar. Thus, their density is still comparable to
that of many terrestrial rocks. The most important
features distinguishing these meteorites from
terrestrial rocks is their fusion crust and the presence
of iron metal alloys.
A new ordinary chondrite found

near Tucson, Arizona
This partially equilibrated ordinary

chondrite is called Snyder Hill. The
contrast between the light gray
interior and jet black fusion crust
surrounding the sample is sharp.
Iron meteorites
In contrast to primitive chondrites and equilibrated
chondrites, iron meteorites are very dense and
nonporous specimens, and are thus much heavier
than most comparably-sized rocks found in the
Earth's crust. Iron meteorites also have metallic
silver-colored interiors. These meteorites are well-
known because the iron metal often crystallized in
crisscrossing plates, known as a Widmanstätten An iron meteorite (brown
pattern after the name of an Austrian count who was exterior and etched silver
one of the first to describe them. However, this interior)
pattern is not commonly noticed in samples unless
These fragments of the Canyon
they have been chemically etched in a laboratory. Diablo iron meteorite are remnants
of the asteroid that collided with the
The fusion crust on these objects is usually a very Earth to produce Meteor Crater in
thin brown coating. Often people mistake terrestrial northern Arizona. The samples have
magnetite for iron meteorites, because it is also dark brown outer surfaces and
silver-colored interiors. The interior
heavy compared to most other terrestrial rocks and portion of the sample on the left has
has a black to purplish-brown surface. However, been etched in the laboratory to
samples of terrestrial magnetite have black to enhance the characteristic
purplish-brown interiors, in contrast to the silver- Widmanstätten pattern.
colored interiors of iron meteorites. Iron meteorites
also often have scalloped or fluted surfaces (like thumbprints pressed into clay) which
are produced by ablation (severe frictional heating of the surface, but not interior, of
the meteoroids) when they penetrated the Earth's atmosphere.
A pallasite
The Brenham (Kansas) pallasite

Pallasites consists of olivine pods in a silver-
colored iron-metal matrix. This
sample has been cut into a thin slab
These types of meteorites are mixtures of metal and
and polished to enhance its features.
silicate material, which weather at different rates,
and thus the surface of these meteorites may change
with age. When fresh, they often have a smooth brown to black fusion crust similar to
that around iron meteorites or achondrites. However, the surfaces of older falls may
be quite knobby because of differential weathering and mottled with rusty orange and
yellow colors. Because of the large amount of metal in pallasites, they are heavier
than most similarly-sized terrestrial rocks.
Sawn surfaces of pallasites are readily identifiable, because of their complex network
of green, yellow, or brown crystalline pods of olivine surrounded by a bright silver-
colored iron-metal matrix.
Achondrites
Achondrites, including SNC's, are the most difficult specimens to differentiate from
terrestrial rocks because they formed on bodies where the same processes that operate
on Earth occurred. Consequently, their mineral assemblages, densities, and textures
are similar to those of terrestrial rocks. An intact fusion crust is the best criteria for
identifying candidates for future studies.
Some achondrites are breccias and thus their interiors may consist of a mixture of
light and dark angular clasts. A related group of achondrites, called mesosiderites, are
brecciated and metamorphosed. This latter group of meteorites are often lumped with
pallasites as stony-iron meteorites, because the metal in them coagulated into large
silvery blebs in an otherwise gray to brown silicate interior.
The Origin of Meteorites

Meteorites are particularly valuable geologic specimens because they represent
samples of planetary bodies (mostly asteroids) which we have not yet obtained
through either manned or unmanned space missions. Neither is it likely that samples
of these bodies will be available by any other means than fortuitous falls for at least a
generation. Thus, as a scientific resource, meteorites provide us with some of our first
glimpses of the diverse array of planetary material scattered throughout the inner solar
system.
The oldest meteorite specimens are remnants of the very first geologic processes to
occur in our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. (The origin of the solar system should
not be confused with the origin of the universe, commonly known as the Big Bang,
which occurred at least 9 billion years ago and possibly as long ago as 20 billion
years.) Our solar system formed when a cloud of interstellar dust and gas collapsed.
Because the interstellar cloud had been slowly spinning, the result was a nearly flat
rotating disk which we refer to as the solar nebula. Much of the dust and gas in the
disk moved to the center of the nebula where it fed a growing protostar which
eventually became our sun.
Schematic figure of collapsing nebula
A schematic diagram of the collapse of a molecular cloud core to form the solar nebula. (a)
The arrows suggest the incident angles between the solar nebula and the material that
accreted to it. (b) Once the material was in the solar nebula, most of it was transported
towards the protosun (long horizontal arrows). There was a critical radius in the outer portion
of the nebula beyond which a small amount of material was transported outward (short
horizontal arrows). (c) After the accretion of interstellar material had decreased, dust in the
nebula settled to the midplane. This created a zone with a high density of dust near the
midplane. A series of aggregational processes swept up this dust to form planetesimals and
eventually planets.
The dust and gas remaining in the nebula was
incorporated into primitive planetary material.
Initially, nebular dust stuck together (or accreted) to
form small, loosely-bound dustballs. In some
regions of the solar nebula these dustballs
encountered violent, high-temperature events and
were melted, forming molten silicate and metal
droplets (like lava). Henry Clifton Sorby, a geologist
of the 1800's and one of the first to examine these
droplets with a microscope, described them as
having once looked like fiery rain. Because the high- Photomicrograph of a chondrule
in thin-section
temperature events were brief, the molten droplets
cooled quickly in the nebula and formed millimeter- A microscopic view of a spherical
sized spheres of rock called chondrules. Meteorites chondrule, 1 millimeter in diameter.
containing these objects are called chondrites. The bright, colored regions within its
margins are mineral crystals. The
black region between the crystals is
Sometimes the temperatures rose so high in the solar glass and represents once-molten
nebula that dust began to evaporate, leaving behind material. This chondrule is in
refractory residues. At other times, the temperatures Semarkona, an unequilibrated
became so low that new dust condensed from the ordinary chondrite which fell in the
nebular gas (like snow from the air). Over time, Madhya Pradesh region of India.
chondrules, evaporative residues, and condensates
collided with each other and accreted to form nebular sediments and eventually larger
bodies called planetesimals (a few to several tens of kilometers in diameter). Our
most primitive meteorite specimens are samples of these complex, yet primitive,
mixtures of nebular (pre-planetary) material. In many cases these meteorites are so
primitive they contain traces of interstellar dust which survived thermal processing in
the solar nebula.
The small planetary bodies from which primitive meteorites come formed throughout
a large portion of the inner solar system. Within these vast distances material was
apparently distributed unevenly and affected by different amounts of thermal
processing. Thus, meteoritic parent bodies produced in different regions of the solar
nebula had slightly different chemical and structural properties. The three principal
groups of primitive chondrites representing these variations are the carbonaceous
chondrites, enstatite chondrites, and unequilibrated ordinary chondrites.
In some cases, rocky (and perhaps icy) planetesimals continued to accrete into much
larger planetary bodies. The temperatures of these bodies began to increase
significantly, in part from the energy deposited by impacts as they grew by accretion.
Perhaps more importantly, the thick accumulation of material insulated the interiors of
these bodies, preventing heat produced by naturally-occurring radioactivity from
radiating into space. They may also have been heated by interacting with a magnetic
field that extended from the sun and through the inner regions of the nebula.
Consequently, temperatures were able to rise high enough to metamorphose primitive
chondritic material (like rocks buried deep in the Earth's crust), causing minerals to
recrystallize and grow larger. Meteorite samples of these metamorphic rocks are
called equilibrated chondrites, because the metamorphic process also homogenized
the disparate chemical compositions of minerals in these bodies.
Elsewhere, temperatures became so high in planetesimals that primitive material was

completely melted, and thus able to form magma chambers and other features typical
of igneous activity. Meteorites produced by these igneous processes are
called achondrites, which means they do not contain chondrules. In those cases
where planetary bodies became large enough to have substantial gravitational fields,
iron-rich metal, which is denser than the silicate portions of magma, may have
separated from the partially or wholly molten bodies to form dense iron-rich cores
inside shells of silicate material. This process is similar to that responsible for the
differentiation of the Earth, and thus why iron meteorites are considered analogues
for the Earth's core. Another group of meteorites called pallasites are intimate
mixtures of iron-rich metal and silicate crystals, and appear to represent regions where
achondrite and iron meteorite magmas were incompletely separated, such as the core-
mantle boundaries of planetesimals.
The different types of meteorites described above come from asteroids, which are
fragments of parent planetesimals or mixtures of fragmented planetesimals. Comets
are another potential source of primitive material, but most scientists think that few, if
any, large meteorites come from comets. On the other hand, comets contribute a
significant number of micrometeorites. In addition, although fragments of comets may
not survive as meteorites (in part because they collide with the Earth with higher
velocities than asteroids and are thus more likely to be vaporized), they may be
responsible for some of the larger impact events on
Earth (see Section IV below).
A new and particularly exciting revelation is that Calcalong Creek, a lunar
some meteorites were ejected from the Moon's meteorite
cratered surface by lunar impacts. To date, 12 lunar
Calcalong Creek is a lunar meteorite
meteorites have been discovered. These samples are which was recovered in Australia. It
important because they may sample a larger region is the twelfth lunar meteorite to be
of the moon than that of the six manned Apollo and found and is the first discovered
three robotic Luna (Soviet) missions. We also outside of Antarctica.
suspect some meteorites known as SNC's (for the
principal meteorites in that class: Shergotty, Nakhla, and Chassigny) were ejected
from the surface of Mars, and thus may be our first samples of a neighboring planet.
Introduction
Meteors and meteorite falls are often spellbinding, producing spectacular visual and
audible effects when they occur. Meteorites, even when they are not seen to fall, are
tantalizing specimens because they represent extraterrestrial material which
traveled hundreds of millions of billions of kilometers, over a period of 4.5 billion
years, in orbit around the sun before colliding with the Earth. Because these stones
are fragments of other planetary bodies (mostly asteroids), some more primitive
than the Earth, they have helped guide our search for the origin and evolution of our
solar system.
Classification
of
meteorites
The three
principal
categories of
meteorites are
stony, stony
irons and irons.
Stony meteorites
are divided
further into
chondrites and
achondrites,
principally on the
presence or
absence of
chrondrules (spherical bodies up to a few mm in diameter). To date over 200 different
minerals have been found in meteorites and this number is increasing. Some only exist in
trace amounts, however, or in rare meteorite types. With the exception of the forms of iron,
the other common minerals in meteorites are also found in terrestrial rocks.
Orthopyroxene - (Mg,Fe)SiO3
Diopside - (Mg,Fe)CaSi2O6
Olivine - (Mg,Fe)2SiO4
Serpentine - (Mg,Fe)6Si4O10(OH)8
Plagioclase - (Ca,Na)(Al,Si)4O8
Kamacite - alpha Fe,Ni 4-7% Ni
Taenite - gamma Fe,Ni 30-60% Ni
Presentation on theme: "Meteors, Asteroids and Comets"—

Presentation transcript:
1 Meteors, Asteroids and Comets
Chapter 11Meteors, Asteroids and CometsCopyright (c) The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Permission required for reproduction or display.
2 Asteroids and CometsOrbiting the Sun are numerous small bodies – the asteroids and
cometsAsteroids are generally rocky objects in the inner Solar SystemComets are icy bodies and
spend most of their time in the outer Solar System
3 Leftovers of the Solar System

Asteroids and comets are remnants of the formation of the Solar SystemSome may be
planetesimalsBest source of information about the Solar System’s early yearsAsteroids and comets
play a central role in planetary impact and in particular can have a large influence on Earth’s
biological life
4 Meteors and Meteorites

A “shooting star”, that streak of light that appears in the night sky for a fraction of a second, is a
meteorA meteor is the glowing trail of hot gas and vaporized debris left by a solid object heated by
friction at it moves through the Earth’s atmosphere (generally, at the upper fringes)If the solid body is
in space, it is called a meteoroid
5 Heating of MeteorsHeated to thousands of degrees Kelvin, meteors convert their kinetic energy
into heating the meteor and air moleculesMeteoroids larger than a few centimeters sometimes are
visible in daylight as “fireballs”
6 Meteorites Hundreds of tons of meteoritic material hit Earth each day

Best time to observe meteors is midnight to dawnMost meteors are too small to reach the Earth’s
surface – those that do are called meteorites
7 ClassificationMeteorites are classified into three broad categories based on their composition:
iron, stony, and stony-ironStony meteorites are composed mainly of silicate compoundsIron
meteorites are mostly metals
8 ClassificationMost stony meteorites include smaller rounded chunks of rocky material called
chondrules – these meteorites are called chondritic meteoritesIn some chondritic meteorites, the
chondrules are embedded in a black, carbon-rich, coal-like substance and are called carbonaceous
chondrites
9 ChondrulesChondrules appear to have been rapidly melted and cooled in the solar
nebulaRadioactive material in chondrules allows dating back to when they first condensed from the
solar nebulaSome chondrules contain ancient dust grains that have survived from before the Solar
System’s birth!
10 Carbonaceous Chondrites
The carbonaceous matter contains organic compounds, including amino acidsRaw material of life
can form in space and was available from the start of the Solar System
11 Asteroids Asteroids are small, generally rocky bodies that orbit Sun
Most asteroids (thousands) lie in the asteroid belt, a region between the orbits of Mars and
JupiterThe first asteroid (Ceres) of this asteroid belt swarm was discovered as a result of a search
for the “missing planet” of Bode’s lawThe combined mass of all the asteroids is probably less than
1/1000 the mass of the Earth
12 The Asteroid Belt
13 Size and Shape of Asteroids

Asteroids are small, so their sizes are best determined from infrared measurements: bigger bodies
emit more IR than smaller ones at the same temperatureAsteroids range in size from 1000 km
across (Ceres) down to kilometer-sized objects and even smaller
14 Size and Shape of Asteroids

Most asteroids are irregularly shaped as determined from spacecraft images and their brightness
fluctuations seen in telescopes
15 Asteroid CompositionReflection spectra show that asteroids belong to three main compositional
groups: carbonaceous bodies, silicate bodies, and metallic iron-nickel bodiesInner-belt asteroids
tend to be silicate-rich and outer-belt asteroids tend to be carbon-richSome asteroids are loose
lumps of material held together by gravity
16 Origin of the Asteroids

From their composition, size, and location, asteroids support the solar nebula hypothesis and are
thought to be fragments of planetesimalsFor this connection to be established, differentiation needed
to occur in large asteroidsFragmentation of these early large asteroids (planetesimals) through
collisions created the stony and iron asteroids we see todayAsteroid belt is the result of Jupiter
disturbing the accretion process in that zone and preventing a planet from forming
17 Origin of the Asteroids
18 Asteroid Belt Structure

Regions of the asteroid belt seemingly empty of asteroids are called Kirkwood GapsThe gaps are
caused by the same resonance process that causes the gaps in Saturn’s ringsTrojan asteroids are
two loose swarms located along Jupiter’s orbit, 60° ahead and 60° behind
19 Apollo AsteroidsOrbits of Apollo Asteroids carry them into the inner Solar System and across the
Earth’s orbitMore than 5000 have been found, which represents an Earth collision probability of once
every 10,000 yearsThey may be “dead” comets, shifted into their orbits by Jupiter and devoid of
surface ice from repeated close trips around the Sun
20 Comets Comets offer a stunning sight

Light pollution from cities distracts this viewHistorically, comets held in fear and reverence
21 Structure of CometsTail - Narrow column of gas and dust, it may stretch over 100 million
kilometersComa – Extremely rarified gaseous atmosphere that may reach a diameter of 100,000
kmNucleus – A “dirty snowball” roughly 10 km across and containing most of the comet’s
massGiotto spacecraft to Comet Halley determined a nucleus density of about 0.2 g/cm3 indicating
that comets are “fluffy” as opposed to compacted icy materialNucleus is odd shaped, extremely dark
(dust and carbon-rich material), and emits gas in jets
22 Structure of Comets
23 Composition of CometsSpectra of coma and tail shows comets are rich in water, CO2, CO, and
small amounts of other gasesEvaporating H2O is dissociated by solar ultraviolet radiation creating a
large hydrogen cloud around the cometFluorescence is the source of a large portion of the comet’s
lightRepeated passage by Sun eventually erodes a comet’s gas production ability
24 Spacecraft Exploration of Comets

NASA’s Stardust and Deep Impact missions have contributed to our understanding of a comet’s
compositionSilicates, clays and other water-based crystals were discovered!
25 Origin of CometsMost comets come from the Oort Cloud, the spherical shell of trillions of icy
bodies believed to lie far beyond Pluto’s orbit to a distance of about 150,000 AU
26 The Oort CloudOriginally orbiting among the giant planets as planetesimals, comets were tossed
into the Oort cloud by those planetsThe shape of the Oort cloud is determined from observations of
comet orbitsSome comet orbits seem to come from a flatter, less remote region – the Kuiper belt,
which extends from Neptune’s orbit out to some unknown distanceComets in the Oort cloud are a
frigid 3 K and only warm up enough to emit gas when they enter Solar System, especially as they
pass Jupiter
27 The Oort Cloud
28 The Comet’s TailA second tail, a gas tail, is created by the interaction of the comet’s emitted gas
and the solar windRadiation pressure drives emitted cometary dust into a dust tail
29 Two TailsSince both the solar wind and solar radiation move away from the Sun, comet tails
always point away from the Sun
30 A Comet’s Journey
31 Short Period CometsMost comets seen on Earth are “one-time” visitors, having periods of
thousands and millions of yearsA small number of comets have periods of less than 200 years –
these are the short-period cometsRepeated passages around the Sun eventually deplete the comet
of its icy material
32 Origin of Short-Period Comets

Short-period comets are now believed to be icy nuclei from the Kuiper beltSupport for this comes
from the detection of over 800 small, presumably icy, bodies orbiting near and somewhat beyond
PlutoStatistical analysis indicates that the Kuiper belt may have an total mass far greater than that
found in the asteroid belt1
33 Comets and Meteor Showers

Typically one can see a meteor in a clear dark sky once every 15 minutes – most of these are stray
fragments of asteroids that arrive at Earth randomly

Meteors seen at a faster rate (one every few minutes or less) and from the same general direction in
the sky are called meteor showersThe point in the sky from which the meteors seem to emerge is
called the radiant

A meteor shower is the result of a comet filling its orbit with emitted dust and the Earth passing
through the dust-filled orbit

Meteor showers are typically named after the constellation where the radiant is located – the Perseid
meteor shower has its radiant in Perseus
37 Giant ImpactsEvery few thousand years, Earth is hit by a huge meteoroid, a body tens of meters
or more in sizeA typical 100 kg meteoroid has the kinetic energy equivalent of 100 tons of dynamite,
which would make a crater 30 meters acrossA 10-meter meteoroid has the explosive power of a
thermonuclear bomb and would leave a kilometer-wide crater
38 Giant Meteor CratersThe giant crater in northern Arizona is 1.2 km across and 200 m deep, and
was probably created 50,000 years ago by a 50-meter meteoroidIn 1908, an asteroid broke up in the
atmosphere in a remote region of Siberia, the Tunguska event, flattening trees out to 30 km
39 Other Meteor Craters Other impacts sites exist

Ring-shaped Manicouagan Lake in Quebec with a diameter of 70 kmVast arc on east edge of
Hudson Bay (500 km)A basin in central Europe (300 km)
40 Mass Extinction and Impacts

About 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, an asteroid or comet hit the Earth
exterminating the dinosaurs and many other life formsEvidence for an extraterrestrial cause of the
extinction is the high abundance of the otherwise rare element iridium in the sediments of the
timeThe amount of iridium found suggests a 10-km asteroid hit the Earth
42 Shatter Cone at Kentland, IN discovered early after excavations began

43 Meteor Crater, Arizona
44 Mass Extinction and Impacts

A 10-km asteroid would produce the explosion equivalent of several billion nuclear bombsInitial
destruction by high temperatures, blast, and acid rain would be followed by months of darkness and
intense cold as the Sun’s light is blotted out by clouds of dustFurther evidence of the impact is a
layer of soot, tiny quartz pellets, and a circular depression near Chicxulub in the Yucatán region of
MexicoCretaceous mass extinction led to rise of mammalsOther mass extinctions have occurred
before and after, but may be related to massive volcanic eruptions or drastic changes in sea level
1 MeteoritesA meteor that survives its fall through the atmosphere is called a meteoriteHundreds fall
on the Earth every yearMeteorites do not come from cometsFirst documented case in modern times
was recorded in 1803Meteorites are discovered in two waysObserved meteorite fallsMeteorite
findsAbout 25 per year are foundAntarctica is a fertile ground for finding meteoritesIce cap collects
over a large area and preserves the meteoritesLecture 15
2 Meteorite Classification
Traditionally meteorites have been placed into three broad classesIronsNearly pure nickel-
ironStonesSilicate or rockyStony-ironsMixture of stone and metallic ironExample of iron meteorite
found in AntarcticClassFallsFindsAntarcticPrimitive stones88%51%85%Differentiated
stones8% 1%12%Irons3%42%2%Stony-irons5%Lecture 15
3 A Variety of Meteorite Types

Fragment of iron meteorite that created Meteor Crater in ArizonaAllende carbonaceous
meteoriteImilac stony meteoriteMern primitive stony meteoriteLecture 15
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4 Ages and Compositions of Meteorites

Meteorites include the oldest and most primitive materials available for direct studyUsing radioactive
dating, the average age of meteorites is between 4.54 ± 0.1 billion yearsUsually taken as the age of
the solar system (4.5 billions years)Meteorites almost certainly originate from asteroidsTwo famous
meteorites (both fell in 1969)Murchison (Australia)Carbonaceous. Contained complex organic
molecules, amino acidsAllende (Mexico)Contained material older than the solar systemMaterial
formed by previous generations of starsLecture 15
5 Observational Constraints on the Formation of the Solar System

There are several observation constraints that any theory of solar system formation must explainAll
the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction and in approximately the same planeMost of the
planets rotate in the same direction that they orbit the Sun and most of the moons orbit in the same
directionIn general, the solar system looks like a giant frisbeeThere are also exceptions, such as the
rotation of Venus that must be explainedThe giant planets have hydrogen and helium with the
terrestrial planets do notThere is a striking progression from the inner to the outer solar system from
rocky metal dominated planets to ice-dominated planets all the way to the comets in the Oort
cloudLecture 15
6 The Solar NebulaAll of the constraints just discussed are consistent with the idea that the solar
system formed 4.5 billion years ago out of a rotating cloud of vapor and hot dust called the solar
nebulaThe terrestrial planets were formed from planetesimalsFew km to a few 10s of kmStill survive
today as asteroids and cometsGravitational formation is called accretionProtoplanets were formed
and were heated by collisions with planetesimalsLecture 15
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7 Continued Evolution of the Solar System

In the outer solar system, the protoplanets grew much largerMasses 10 times EarthThe outer
planets retained the gaseous composition of the solar nebula (and the Sun)Jupiter and Saturn
especially because of their large sizeAfter the first few millions years, protoplanets ruled the solar
system but many planetisimals still existed and many cataclysmic collisions occurredThe comets
were ejected by the gravitation of the large planetsEarth may have gotten a large share of it water
and organic compounds from comet impactsLecture 15
8 Stages in the Geological History of a Terrestrial Planet

TimeLecture 15
9 Geological ActivityThe Moon and Mercury were once geologically active but have been
geologically dead for 3.3 billion yearsMars was once active but most activity ceased 3 billion years
agoEarth and Venus are still active geologicallyEarth’s surface appears to be 200 million years
oldVenus’ surface appears to be 500 million years oldOn the outer worlds we see low temperature
volcanismIo is a prime exampleLecture 15
10 Elevation Differences
The mountains on Mars are higher than the mountains on Earth and Venus10 km max on Earth and
Venus26 km max on MarsDue toTime to grow upward is differentConstant evolution of the crust on
Earth and VenusMountains are erasedLack of evolution on MarsMountains can growForce of gravity
is differentEarth and Venus have three times the gravity of MarsLarge mountains on Earth and
Venus cannot sustain their own weightLecture 15
11 AtmospheresThe atmospheres of the planets were formed by a combination of gas escaping

from their interiors and the impacts of debris from outer spaceThe terrestrial planets must have had
similar atmospheresMercury was too small and too hot to retain its atmosphereThe dominant gas is
now CO2 but there was originally CO, NH3, and CH2UV disassociated the hydrogen based gases
and the hydrogen escapedVenus and Mars lost their water while Earth kept its waterWith hydrogen
gases and water gone, Mars and Venus were left with CO2Life removed the CO2 from Earth’s
atmosphere leaving mainly N2 and O2In the outer solar system, only Titan retains its
atmosphereN2Lecture 15
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12 These x-ray images show the change in solar activity from 1991 to 1995
Our SunOur Sun is a rather ordinary starIt is not unusually hot or coldIt is not unusually young or
oldIt is not unusually large or smallThe Sun has been shining for 5 billion years and expected to
shine for another 5 billion yearsHowever, the Sun goes through various cyclesSolar activity varies
with a period of about 11 yearsThese x-ray images show the change in solar activity from 1991 to
1995Lecture 15
13 Outer Layers of the SunThe Sun is a huge ball of hot gas shining under its own powerWe can
only see the atmosphere of the SunLecture 15
14 The Abundance of Elements in the Sun
Percentage by Number of AtomsPercentage by WeightHydrogen (Z=1)92.073.4Helium
(Z=2)7.825.0Carbon (Z=6)0.020.20Nitrogen (Z=7)0.0080.09Oxygen (Z=8)0.060.8Neon
(Z=10)0.010.16Magnesium (Z=12)0.003Silicon (Z=14)0.004Sulfur (Z=16)0.0020.05Iron
(Z=26)0.14Lecture 15
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15 The Solar PhotosphereThe photosphere is the boundary in the Sun’s atmosphere where the
Sun becomes opaqueBeneath the photosphere, photons are absorbed and re-emittedThe
photosphere goes from transparent to opaque over a depth of 400 kmThe temperature of the gases
vary from 4500 K to 6000 K and the pressure and density increase by a factor of 10 as the
photosphere is traversedThe surface of the Sun has imperfectionsSunspotsSunspots activity varies
with a period of 11 yearsLecture 15
16 The Solar Chromosphere

The Sun’s gases extend out far beyond the photosphereThe region of the Sun’s atmosphere just
above the photosphere is termed the chromosphereUntil the 20th century, the chromosphere could
only be studied during total solar eclipsesThe chromosphere consists of bright emission lights
indicated that it is a hot, thin gasThe reddish color is created by the presence of hydrogenIn 1868,
new discrete lines were seen in the chromosphereHelium had been discoveredHelium was not found
on Earth until 1895Lecture 15
17 The Solar AtmosphereThe temperature of the gases of the Sun increase dramatically in the
transition region between the chromosphere and the coronaLecture 15
18 Photos of the Sun’s corona taken by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
The Solar CoronaThe outermost part of the Sun’s atmosphere is called the coronaThe corona is
very hotMillions of KObserve elements such as iron (Z=26) with 16 electrons ionized
(removed)Photos of the Sun’s corona taken by NASA Marshall Space Flight CenterLecture 15
19 X-ray photograph of the Sun’s corona showing coronal holes

The Solar WindThe Sun produces a stream of charged particles (mainly electrons and protons)
called the solar windThe Sun loses 10 million tons of material per year in the form of solar windX-ray
pictures of the Sun show coronal holes that are dark areas on photographsThe solar wind is thought
to mainly arise from these magnetic anomaliesX-ray photograph of the Sun’s corona showing
coronal holesLecture 15
20 AuroraThe charged particles from the Sun are trapped by the Earth’s magnetic field and spiral
down along the field linesSometimes these charged particles hit molecules and atoms in the air and
cause them to glowGermany, April 6, 2000Lecture 15
21 Each small bright spot is a rising column of hot gas

The Active SunThe Sun is in a perpetual state of changeIt’s surface is a seething cauldron of hot
gasOccasionally there are large solar flares that disrupt communications on EarthThe surface of the
photosphere has a mottled look resembling grains of riceEach small bright spot is a rising column of
hot gasSunspotLecture 15
22 Sunspots Sunspots are cooler than the surrounding solar gases

Sunspots can last from a few hours to a few monthsThe number of sunspots varies with a cycle of
about 11 eleven yearsDuring the maximum activity, there can be 100 visible sunspotsDuring the
minimum activity, there can be no sunspotsSunspots can be seen to rotate with the surface of the
SunPhotosphereChromosphereLecture 15
23 Portrait of a SunspotThe sunspot has a dark central region called the umbraThe umbra is
surrounded by a less dark region called the penumbraThe granulation of the Sun’s surface is also
visibleLecture 15

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Meteorite Charts

The Largest Meteorites

Meteorite Country Found Structural Class Group Weight kg

Hoba Namibia 1920 Ataxite IVB 60,000

Campo del Cielo Argentina 1990 Octahedrite IAB 37,000

Cape York (Ahnighito) Greenland 1894 Octahedrite IIIAB 31,000

Armanty China 1898 Octahedrite IIIE 23,500

Bacubirito Mexico 1863 Octahedrite UNG 22,000

Cape York (Agpalilik) Greenland 1963 Octahedrite IIIAB 20,000

Mbosi Tanzania 1930 Octahedrite UNG 16,000

Campo del Cielo Argentina 1576 Octahedrite IAB 15,000

Willamette USA 1902 Octahedrite IIIAB 14,900

Chupaderos Mexico 1854 Octahedrite IIIAB 14,100

Mundrabilla Australia 1911 Octahedrite IIICD 12,000

Morito Mexico 1600 Octahedrite IIIAB 11,000

Meteorite Country Found Class Weight kg

Huckitta Australia 1937 Pallasite 1,400

Krasnojarsk Russia 1749 Pallasite 700

Meteorite Country Fell Class Group Weight kg

Jilin China 1976 Chondrite H5 1,770

Norton County USA 1948 Achondrite Aubrite 1,073

Long Island USA 1891 Chondrite L6 (broken) 564

Paragould USA 1930 Chondrite LL5 371

Bjurbole Finland 1899 Chondrite L/LL4 (broken) 330

The classes listed on this page are the most

Several labs are listed on the Finding a

Stone (stony) Meteorites

The Largest Meteorite Showers

One of the most impressive meteorite showers of the 20th century

Historic Meteorite Showers

Meteorite Country Fell TKW kg Individuals

Pultusk Poland 1868 > 200 > 180,000

Holbrook USA 1912 > 220 > 16,000

Sikhote-Alin Russia 1947 > 70,000 > 15,000

Allende Mexico 1969 > 2,000 > 5,000

L'Aigle France 1803 > 37 kg > 3,000

Mocs Romania 1882 > 300 > 3,000

Prominent Prehistoric Strewn Fields

Meteorite Country Found TKW kg Individuals

Campo del Cielo Argentina 1576 > 70,000 thousands

Gibeon Namibia 1836 > 26,000 thousands

Toluca Mexico 1776 > 2,500 thousands

Brenham USA 1882 > 2,400 thousands

Imilac Chile 1822 > 1,000 1,000

Plainview USA 1917 > 700 > 1,000

Prior to the age of professional meteorite

Carbonaceous chondrites or C chondrites represent some of the most

However, there are different clans and groups of carbonaceous chondrites

Some researchers suggest the origin of the CI chondrites is from comets

As with the CI chondrites, the CM chondrites are well known to contain a

These large CAIs, characteristic of CV chondrites, have been intensely

All members of this group of carbonaceous chondrites belong to the

The chondrites of the CK group belong to the petrologic types 3 - 6,

Scientists have searched for the origin of the CR chondrites, comparing

This group of carbonaceous chondrites is somewhat of an exception since its

All chondrites of the CH group belong to petrologic types 2 or 3, and

Some researchers have suggested that the CH chondrites formed in close

Some carbonaceous chondrites don't fit into established groups, although

The H chondrites belong to petrological types 3 - 7, with a characteristic

The comparisons of the reflectance spectra of the H chondrites to the

With about 6,500 members (including probable pairings), the chondrites of

The L chondrites belong to the petrological types 3 - 7, with a characteristic

Similar to the ordinary chondrites, the enstatite chondrites have been

Most R chondrites belong to petrologic type 3 or are heavily brecciated