Earth Sciences 1086F/G Lecture 13: Meteorites
22 Mar 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Least sophisticated classification is irons, stony-irons, and stones. Irons consist of almost entirely iron and nickel metal alloys: stony-irons consists of a nearly 50-50 mix of some metal alloys and non-metallic silicate/oxide material that looks like stone, stones are almost entirely non-metallic silicate/oxide material - 93% Further subdivided into many groups: chondrites - aggregates of cosmic sediment that have never been altered, achondrites - igneous rocks that have been at least partially melted and crystalized. Formed by accretion: carbonaceous chondrites are very important - contain carbon in forms of diamonds, graphite, or even hydrocarbon organic molecules, contain many hydrous clay silicates as well as salts, composition closely matches the sun. Achondrites: when a parent body receives a good hit from a collision, fragments can end up on earth. If they are the product of crystallization from magma, it is called an achondrite. If the fragment is a chink of the residual product it is called a primitive achondrite.
