Ordinary chondrites (OCs) are the most abundant type of meteorites that fall to Earth. Compared to the carbonaceous chondrites, which commonly contain abundant hydrous minerals, OCs consist mainly of anhydrous […]
The timing and mechanism of water delivery to early Earth is a subject of active research. The central question is what type(s) of planetary bodies carried the water. Water could […]
Angrites are olivine-bearing, basaltic meteorites that originate from a volatile-depleted planetesimal. Previous work on angrites suggests that their parent body accreted within the first 0.5 to 1 Myr of solar […]
The ureilite meteorites are a major group of ultramafic meteorites (consisting of the minerals olivine and pyroxene) thought to represent the mantle of a partially differentiated, carbon-rich asteroid. Some fundamental […]
Studying the mineralogy and chemical compositions of primitive meteorites can reveal the conditions under which materials formed in the early solar system and the processes that altered them on asteroidal […]
Presolar grains are small bits of solid interstellar matter that condensed in the outflowing and cooling gases of different types of stars before the formation of our Sun. After traversing […]
One of the major classes of meteorites is the carbonaceous chondrites, volatile-rich primitive meteorites thought to have formed in the outer solar system. The components of carbonaceous chondrites — such as […]
Despite living on Earth’s crust, scientists have little information on how it evolved before 3.5 billion years ago because plate tectonics have destroyed Earth’s oldest rocks. In contrast, achondrites, which are […]
Meteorite impacts on Earth are mostly known for forming recognizable craters such as the Barringer Meteorite Crater in Arizona that are easily distinguished in the geologic record. Large airbursts occur […]
Polymorphs of a mineral are different forms that have the same chemical composition but different atomic structures. These different atomic arrangements reflect the pressures and temperatures, and ultimately the geological […]
As the demands for important metal resources continue to rise, there is an increased interest in studying various space environments that may provide alternative reservoirs. Currently, it is thought that […]
Scientists have offered new insights into the origin of diamonds in a group of stony meteorites called ureilites. The ureilites are fragments of a larger asteroidal parent body that was […]
Earth is an ocean world with approximately 70 percent of its surface covered with water. In addition, a quantity of water equal to several Earth-size oceans is thought to be […]
Meteorites can contain a wide variety of exotic materials that are very rarely, if at all, observed on Earth. These materials are exciting to discover and compelling to study because […]
Most meteorites in our collection are materials derived from the main asteroid belt. The traditional classification of these meteorites suggests that they come from either primitive, undifferentiated asteroids that have […]
Meteorites deliver to Earth a direct means of studying the compositional diversity of solar system materials. However, several questions remain regarding the origins of meteorites, such as where do the […]
Edscottite (IMA 2018-086a), Fe5C2, is a new iron carbide mineral that occurs with low-Ni iron (kamacite), taenite, nickelphosphide (Ni-dominant schreibersite), and minor cohenite in the Wedder-burn iron meteorite, a Ni-rich […]
When comparing various meteorite types with potential parental asteroids, a key variable is density. For example, the average density of an iron meteorite is strongly affected by the Ni content […]
…but diamonds preserve evidence of their existence. New research on diamond inclusions in the Almahata Sitta ureilite meteorite shows that these inclusions formed under high pressure during diamond growth before […]
Dear colleagues, We would like to invite you to submit an abstract to the European Planetary Science Congress 2018 (16–21 September 2018; Technical University of Berlin; Germany) on the Session […]