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CAI's |
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| Meteorite - Axtel, CV3 |
| Figure 1. Scale bar 1.3 mm. |
| Meteorite - Axtel, CV3 |
| CAI's, (1), amoeboid olivine inclusion (2), chondrules, (3). |
| Calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions
(CAIs) formed very early in our Solar System’s history directly from hot
gas within the protoplanetary disk. They are among the oldest known solid materials, forming over 4.567 billion years ago in the most primitive environment of the beginning solar system—hot gases, radiation, protosun formation, etc. Rich in refractory elements – calcium and aluminum, they also contain some of the “first generation” mineralogy of the Solar System with minerals like melilite, perovskite, spinel, anorthite, hibonite, and pyroxene. They are commonly seen in carbonaceous chondrites. Their formation helps to define the early conditions and processes that led to the formation of planets. As such, they are considered primary structures in meteorites. |
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