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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.
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]
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]
These are known as calcium–aluminium-rich inclusions or "CAIs", so named because they are dominantly composed of calcium- and aluminum-rich silicate and oxide minerals. Like many chondrites, Allende is a breccia , and contains many dark-colored clasts or "dark inclusions" which have a chondritic structure that is distinct from the rest of the ...
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
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]
"While more than 70,000 meteorites are known, only 6% had been clearly identified by their composition as coming from the moon, Mars, or Vesta, one of the largest asteroids in the main asteroid belt.
The Willamette Meteorite weighs about 34,200 pounds (15,500 kg). It is classified as a type III iron meteorite, being composed of over 91% iron and 7.62% nickel, with traces of cobalt and phosphorus. The approximate dimensions of the meteorite are 10 feet (3 m) tall by 6.5 feet (2 m) wide by 4.25 feet (1.3 m) deep.