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Globular silicates |
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| Meteorite: Tucson, Ungrouped, Iron |
| Figure 1. Scale bar 300 µ. |
| Meteorite: Tucson, Iron, Ungrouped |
| Silicate inclusions in the Tucson Iron |
| Tucson, also referred to as the Tucson Ring,
is an ungrouped iron meteorite with about 8% silicate inclusions. These
silicates are primarily composed of forsteritic olivine, pure enstatite,
aluminous diopside, pure anorthite, and brezinaite. The silicates are arranged in subparallel, flow-like structures within the iron matrix. The formation of these silicates is believed to have occurred under extreme conditions, at temperatures reaching around 1800° C. K. Kurat G. in Meteoritics, 12, 2010, and the 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2010) suggests a nebular origin for the silicates and metal phases in the Tucson meteorite. This origin implies that they formed in the solar nebula gas, through a process distinct from igneous processes. Buchwald, 1975, describes Tucson as “an extremely anomalous ataxite displaying a flow pattern of subparallel silicate crystals, mainly olivine.” He further states that Tucson has no close relatives in structure or composition. |
| Figure 2. Scale bar 150 µm. |
| Meteorite: Tucson, Iron, Ungrouped |
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