Jump to content

Brachinite

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Scootalmighty (talk | contribs) at 18:40, 8 March 2019 (→Origin: Deleted this section as the link is dead and there is no consensus on the origin of brachinites. The connection to Nanetta is that Nanetta meteorite has a similar iron content in Olivine brachinites, thats it.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Slice of the Northwest Africa 3151 meteorite.

Brachinites are a group of meteorites that are classified either as primitive achondrites or as asteroidal achondrites. Like all primitive achondrites, they have similarities with chondrites and achondrites. Brachinites contain 74 to 98% (Volume) olivine.

Naming and history

Brachinites are named after the Brachina meteorite, the type specimen of this group which in turn is named after Brachina, South Australia.[1]

Description

Brachinites are almost entirely made from olivine (74-98 Volume-%). Other minerals include plagioclase (6.7 to 12.9%), iron sulfides (1.8 - 4.0%), clinopyroxene (1.5 - 8.2%) and orthopyroxene (0 - 2.4%). Trace minerals include phosphates and meteoric iron. The only deviation from chondrites is the very high olivine/orthopyroxene ratio.[2]

Specimen

There are currently 30 meteorites that are classified as brachinites.[3] A notable example is the type specimen, the Brachina meteorite.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Brachina". Meteoritical Society. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  2. ^ Nehru, C. E.; M. Prinz; M. K. Weisberg; M. Ebihara; R. N. Clayton; T. K. Mayeda (1992). "Brachinites: A New Primitive Achondrite Group". Meteoritics. 27 (3): 267.
  3. ^ "Meteoritical Bulletin Database". Meteoritical Society. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Brachinite&oldid=886816823"