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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.
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
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]
Meteoritics [note 1] is the science that deals with meteors, meteorites, and meteoroids. [note 2] [2] [3] It is closely connected to cosmochemistry, mineralogy and geochemistry. A specialist who studies meteoritics is known as a meteoriticist. [4]
Fossil meteorite – a meteorite that was buried under layers of sediment before the start of the Quaternary period. Some or all of the original cosmic material has been replaced by diagenetic minerals. [3]: 320 (It is, however, not a fossil). Fusion crust – a coating on meteorites that forms during their passage through the atmosphere.
Stony–iron meteorites have always been divided into pallasites (which are now known to comprise several distinct groups) and mesosiderites (a textural term that is also synonymous with the name of a modern group). Below is a representation of how the meteorite groups fit into the more traditional classification hierarchy: [1]
A Meteorite mineral is a mineral found chiefly or exclusively within meteorites, as opposed to minerals also found commonly on Earth, such as Olivine. The main article for this category is List of meteorite minerals .