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Meteorites have traditionally been divided into three broad categories: stony meteorites that are rocks, mainly composed of silicate minerals; iron meteorites that are largely composed of ferronickel; and stony-iron meteorites that contain large amounts of both metallic and rocky material.
A meteorite mineral is a mineral found chiefly or exclusively within meteorites or meteorite-derived material. [citation needed] This is a list of those minerals, excluding minerals also commonly found in terrestrial rocks. As of 1997 there were approximately 295 mineral species which have been identified in meteorites. [1]
Iron meteorites, also called siderites or ferrous meteorites, are a type of meteorite that consist overwhelmingly of an iron–nickel alloy known as meteoric iron that usually consists of two mineral phases: kamacite and taenite. Most iron meteorites originate from cores of planetesimals, [3] with the exception of the IIE iron meteorite group. [4]
Carbonaceous chondrites or C chondrites are a class of chondritic meteorites comprising at least 8 known groups and many ungrouped meteorites. They include some of the most primitive known meteorites. The C chondrites represent only a small proportion (4.6%) [1] of meteorite falls.
Meteoric iron, sometimes meteoritic iron, [1] is a native metal and early-universe protoplanetary-disk remnant found in meteorites and made from the elements iron and nickel, mainly in the form of the mineral phases kamacite and taenite. Meteoric iron makes up the bulk of iron meteorites but is also found in other
The meteorite had disintegrated into 20 pieces weighing a total of 10 kilograms. In 1911 a meteorite was seen near Tonk in India. Only a few fragments were recovered that weighed a mere 7.7 grams (0.27 oz). [5] The meteorite of the type locality Ivuna in Tanzania fell in 1938 splitting into three pieces of altogether 705 grams (24.9 oz).
A chondrite / ˈ k ɒ n d r aɪ t / is a stony (non-metallic) meteorite that has not been modified by either melting or differentiation of the parent body. [a] [1] They are formed when various types of dust and small grains in the early Solar System accreted to form primitive asteroids.
Somewhat more than 10% of the rock is composed of metal grains. A diagnostic feature of EH chondrites is that the Fe-Ni metal contains ~3 wt% elemental silicon. EL (low-iron) chondrites contain larger chondrules (>0.5 millimetres (0.020 in)), and low ratios of siderophile elements to silicon. Fe-Ni metal contains ~1 wt% silicon.