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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 |
| The Tucson iron meteorite, also known as the Tucson Ring, is a distinctive ungrouped iron meteorite containing approximately 8% silicate inclusions. These silicates consist mainly of forsteritic olivine, pure enstatite, aluminous diopside, pure anorthite, and brezinaite, arranged in flow-like, subparallel patterns within the iron matrix. It’s thought that these silicates formed under intense conditions, with temperatures soaring to around 1800°C. According to K. Kurat G. (Meteoritics, 12, 2010, and the 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 2010), the silicates and metal components likely originated in the solar nebula gas through a process unrelated to igneous activity. Buchwald (1975) describes Tucson as “an exceptionally unusual ataxite, exhibiting a flow pattern of subparallel silicate crystals, predominantly olivine,” and notes that it lacks any close structural or compositional analogs among known meteorites. |
| Figure 2. Scale bar 150 µm. |
| Meteorite: Tucson, Iron, Ungrouped |
| Listing of Structures |