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The name pyroxene is derived from the Ancient Greek words for 'fire' (πυρ, pur) and 'stranger' (ξένος, xénos). Pyroxenes were so named due to their presence in volcanic lavas , where they are sometimes found as crystals embedded in volcanic glass ; it was assumed they were impurities in the glass, hence the name meaning "fire stranger".
Augite, also known as Augurite, is a common rock-forming pyroxene mineral with formula (Ca,Na)(Mg,Fe,Al,Ti)(Si,Al) 2 O 6. The crystals are monoclinic and prismatic. Augite has two prominent cleavages, meeting at angles near 90 degrees.
Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral with composition Na Al Si 2 O 6.It is hard (Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0), very tough, and dense, with a specific gravity of about 3.4.It is found in a wide range of colors, but is most often found in shades of green or white.
Diopside is a monoclinic pyroxene mineral with composition MgCaSi 2 O 6. It forms complete solid solution series with hedenbergite (FeCaSi 2 O 6) and augite, and partial solid solutions with orthopyroxene and pigeonite. It forms variably colored, but typically dull green crystals in the monoclinic prismatic class.
Purely pyroxene-bearing volcanic rocks are rare, restricted to spinifex-textured sills, lava tubes and thick flows in the Archaean greenstone belts.Here, the pyroxenite lavas are created by in-situ crystallisation and accumulation of pyroxene at the base of a lava flow, creating the distinctive spinifex texture, but also occasionally mesocumulate and orthocumulate segregations.
Remote and landed measurements prior to CRISM, and analysis of Martian meteorites, all suggest that the Martian crust is made mostly of basaltic igneous rock composed mostly of feldspar and pyroxene. Images from the Mars Orbiter Camera on MGS showed that in some places the upper few kilometers of the crust is composed of hundreds of thin ...
This image is a derivative work of the following images: Image:Pyrox_names.png licensed with GFDL 2005-12-20T22:46:48Z Angrense 722x467 (6196 Bytes) Diagram of pyroxene names. Source: English version of Wikipedia. Uploaded with derivativeFX
Spodumene is a pyroxene mineral consisting of lithium aluminium inosilicate, Li Al(Si O 3) 2, and is a commercially important source of lithium.It occurs as colorless to yellowish, purplish, or lilac kunzite (see below), yellowish-green or emerald-green hiddenite, prismatic crystals, often of great size.