Meteorite minerals

Iridium is a chemical element; it has the symbol Ir and atomic number 77. This very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group is considered the second-densest naturally occurring metal (after osmium), with a density of as defined by experimental X-ray crystallography. 191Ir and 193Ir are the only two naturally occurring isotopes of iridium, as well as the only stable isotopes; the latter is the more abundant. It is one of the most corrosion-resistant metals, even at temperatures as high as .

A chondrite (, ) is a stony (non-metallic) meteorite that has not been modified by either melting or differentiation of the parent body. They are formed when various types of dust and small grains in the early Solar System accreted to form primitive asteroids. Some such bodies that are captured in the planet's gravity well become the most common type of meteorite by arriving on a trajectory toward the planet's surface. Estimates for their contribution to the total meteorite population vary between 85.7% and 86.2%.

thumb|Pentlandite in pyrrhotite, ore specimen from the [[Sudbury Basin (field of view 3.4 cm)|300x300px]] Pentlandite is an iron–nickel sulfide with the chemical formula . Pentlandite has a narrow variation range in nickel to iron ratios (Ni:Fe), but it is usually described as 1:1. In some cases, this ratio is skewed by the presence of pyrrhotite inclusions. It also contains minor cobalt, usually at low levels as a fraction of weight.

chemical compound

Lonsdaleite (named in honour of Kathleen Lonsdale), also called hexagonal diamond in reference to the crystal structure, is an allotrope of carbon with a hexagonal lattice, as opposed to the cubical lattice of conventional diamond. It is found in nature in meteorite debris; when meteors containing graphite strike the Earth, the immense heat and stress of the impact transforms the graphite into diamond, but retains graphite's hexagonal crystal lattice. Lonsdaleite was first identified in 1967 from the Canyon Diablo meteorite, where it occurs as microscopic crystals mixed in with ordinary diamon

Moissanite () is naturally occurring silicon carbide and its various crystalline polymorphs. It has the chemical formula SiC and is a rare mineral, discovered by the French chemist Henri Moissan in 1893. Silicon carbide or moissanite is useful for commercial and industrial applications due to its hardness, optical properties, and thermal conductivity.

Kamacite is an alloy of iron and nickel, which is found on Earth only in meteorites. According to the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) it is considered a proper nickel-rich variety of the mineral native iron. The proportion iron:nickel is between 90%:10% and 95%:5%; small quantities of other elements, such as cobalt or carbon may also be present. The mineral has a metallic luster, is gray and has no clear cleavage although its crystal structure is isometric-hexoctahedral. Its density is about 8 g/cm3 and its hardness is 4 on the Mohs scale. It is also sometimes called balkene

Troilite () is a rare iron sulfide mineral with the simple formula of FeS. It is the iron-rich endmember of the pyrrhotite group. Pyrrhotite has the formula Fe(1−x)S (x = 0 to 0.2) which is iron deficient. As troilite lacks the iron deficiency which gives pyrrhotite its characteristic magnetism, troilite is non-magnetic.

thumb|right|200px|Widmanstätten pattern showing the two forms of Nickel-Iron, Kamacite and Taenite, in an octahedrite meteorite Taenite is a mineral found naturally on Earth mostly in iron meteorites. It is an alloy of iron and nickel, with a chemical formula of and nickel proportions of 20% up to 65%.

Schreibersite is generally a rare iron nickel phosphide mineral, , though common in iron-nickel meteorites. It has been found on Disko Island in Greenland and Illinois.

Cohenite is a naturally occurring iron carbide mineral with the chemical structure (Fe, Ni, Co)3C. This forms a hard, shiny, silver mineral which was named by E. Weinschenk in 1889 after the German mineralogist Emil Cohen, who first described and analysed material from the Magura meteorite found near Slanica, Žilina Region, Slovakia. Cohenite is found in rod-like crystals in iron meteorites.

iron originating from a meteorite rather than from the Earth since formation

very old dust in space

Chaoite, or white carbon, is a mineral described as an allotrope of carbon, whose existence is disputed. It was discovered in shock-fused graphite gneiss from the Ries crater in Bavaria. It has been described as slightly harder than graphite, with a reflection colour of grey to white. From its electron diffraction pattern, the mineral has been considered to have a carbyne structure, the linear acetylenic carbon allotrope of carbon. A later report has called this identification, and the very existence of carbyne phases, into question, arguing that the new reflections in the diffraction pattern

Wadsleyite is an orthorhombic mineral with the formula β-(Mg,Fe)2SiO4. It was first found in nature in the Peace River meteorite from Alberta, Canada. It is formed by a phase transformation from olivine (α-(Mg,Fe)2SiO4) under increasing pressure and eventually transforms into spinel-structured ringwoodite (γ-(Mg,Fe)2SiO4) as pressure increases further. The structure can take up a limited amount of other bivalent cations instead of magnesium, but contrary to the α and γ structures, a β structure with the sum formula Fe2SiO4 is not thermodynamically stable. Its cell parameters are approximately

Heazlewoodite, Ni3S2, is a rare sulfur-poor nickel sulfide mineral found in serpentinitized dunite. It occurs as disseminations and masses of opaque, metallic light bronze to brassy yellow grains which crystallize in the trigonal crystal system. It has a hardness of 4, a specific gravity of 5.82. Heazlewoodite was first described in 1896 from Heazlewood, Tasmania, Australia.

Hapkeite is a mineral discovered in the Dhofar 280 meteorite found in 2000 in Oman on the Arabian Peninsula. The meteorite is believed to originate from the Moon; specifically, it appears to be a fragment of lunar highland breccia. Hapkeite's composition is of silicon and iron, and it is similar to other silicon-iron minerals found on Earth. An impact on the Moon is thought to have launched the partially molten or vaporized material into orbit.

Tetrataenite is a native metal alloy composed of chemically-ordered L10-type , recognized as a mineral in 1980. The mineral is named after its tetragonal crystal structure and its relation to the iron-nickel alloy, taenite, which is chemically disordered (A1) phase with an underlying fcc lattice. Tetrataenite is one of the mineral phases found in meteoric iron. Before its discovery in meteoritic samples, experimental synthesis of the L10 phase was first reported in 1962 by Louis Néel and co-workers, following neutron irradiation of a chemically disordered FeNi sample under an applied magnetic

Hibonite is a mineral with the chemical formula , occurring in various colours, with a hardness of 7.5–8.0 and a hexagonal crystal structure. It is rare, but is found in high-grade metamorphic rocks on Madagascar. Some presolar grains in primitive meteorites consist of hibonite. Hibonite also is a common mineral in the Ca-Al-rich inclusions found in some chondritic meteorites. Hibonite is closely related to hibonite-Fe (IMA 2009-027, ) an alteration mineral from the Allende meteorite. Hibonites were among the first minerals to form as the disk of gas and dust swirling around the young sun cool

Majorite is a mineral found in the mantle of the Earth. Its chemical formula is Mg3(MgSi)(SiO4)3. It is a type of garnet, distinguished from other garnets in having silicon in octahedral as well as tetrahedral coordination. Majorite was first described in 1970 from the Coorara Meteorite of Western Australia and has been reported from various other meteorites in which majorite is thought to result from an extraterrestrial high pressure shock event. Mantle-derived xenoliths containing majorite have been reported from potassic ultramafic magmas on Malaita Island on the Ontong Java Plateau in the

Brianite is a phosphate mineral with the chemical formula Na2CaMg(PO4)2. It was first identified in an iron meteorite. This mineral is named after Brian Harold Mason (1917–2009), a pioneer in meteoritics.

Mackinawite ( ) is an iron sulfide mineral, which can contain nickel substituting for iron(II), with as chemical formula (where x = 0 to 0.11). As indicated by its chemical composition, Fe(1+×), Fe is present with an excess of × over S, and it is thus an iron-rich, or a sulfur-deficient, iron monosulfide mineral. The mineral crystallizes in the tetragonal crystal system and has been described as a distorted, close packed, cubic array of S atoms with some of the gaps filled with Fe. Mackinawite occurs as opaque bronze to grey-white tabular crystals and anhedral masses. It has a Mohs hardness of

Panguite is a type of titanium oxide mineral first discovered as an inclusion within the Allende meteorite, and first described in 2012.

Allabogdanite is a very rare phosphide mineral with the chemical formula , found in 1994 in a meteorite. It was described for an occurrence in the Onello meteorite in the Onello River basin, Sakha Republic; Yakutia, Russia; associated with taenite, schreibersite, kamacite, graphite and awaruite. It was named for Russian geologist Alla Bogdanova.

Niningerite is a magnesium–iron–manganese sulfide mineral with the chemical formula MgS that is found in enstatite chondrite meteorites. Niningerite is the magnesium-dominant analog of keilite. This mineral is named after Harvey H. Nininger.

Oldhamite is a calcium magnesium sulfide mineral with the chemical formula . Ferrous iron may also be present in the mineral resulting in the chemical formula . It is a pale to dark brown accessory mineral in meteorites. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system, but typically occurs as anhedral grains between other minerals.

Grossite is a calcium aluminium oxide mineral with formula CaAl4O7. It is a colorless to white vitreous mineral which crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system.

thumb|Plessite is the fine-grained material between the lamellae. Kaposfüred iron meteorite, Hungary. Plessite is a meteorite texture consisting of a fine-grained mixture of the minerals kamacite and taenite found in the octahedrite iron meteorites. It occurs in gaps (its name is derived from the Greek "plythos" meaning "filling") between the larger bands of kamacite and taenite which form Widmanstätten patterns.

Elkinstantonite is a mineral with formula that was first generated in a laboratory in the 1980s and first identified from natural origins in 2022, when the official mineral designation was also given. It is monoclinic, with space group P21/c (space group 14).

Haxonite is an iron nickel carbide mineral found in iron meteorites and carbonaceous chondrites. It has a chemical formula of , crystallises in the cubic crystal system and has a Mohs hardness of - 6.

Osbornite is a naturally occurring variety of titanium nitride. It was first discovered in the Bustee meteorite in the late nineteenth century. Its crystals are golden-yellow octahedrons, combined with oldhamite. It is friable and does not dissolve in acids.

Daubréelite is a rare sulfide mineral. It crystallizes with cubic symmetry and has chemical composition of Fe2+Cr3+2S4. It usually occurs as black platy aggregates.

Krinovite (pronounced kreen'-off-ite) is an emerald-green triclinic meteorite mineral, containing chromium, magnesium, oxygen, silicon, and sodium, of the aenigmatite group. "It has been discovered within graphite nodules in three iron meteorites," specifically the Canyon Diablo, Wichita County, and Youndegin meteorites. It was named in honour of Evgeny Leonidovich Krinov, Russian investigator of meteorites. It is a decaoxotrisilicate in the sorosilicate subclass.

Elaliite is a mineral with formula (or ) that was first synthesized in a laboratory in the 1980s and later identified in natural material in 2022 at which time the official mineral designation was given. The mineral is orthorhombic, with space group Cmmm (space group 65).

Akimotoite is a rare silicate mineral in the ilmenite group of minerals, with the chemical formula . It is polymorphous with pyroxene and with bridgmanite, a natural silicate perovskite that is the most abundant mineral in Earth's silicate mantle. Akimotoite has a vitreous luster, is colorless, and has a white or colorless streak. It crystallizes in the trigonal crystal system in space group R. It is the silicon analogue of geikielite (MgTiO3).

Xifengite (Fe5Si3) is a rare metallic iron silicide mineral. The crystal system of xifengite is hexagonal. It has a specific gravity of 6.45 and a Mohs hardness of 5.5. It occurs as steel gray inclusions within other meteorite derived nickel iron mineral phases.

Xieite is an iron chromium oxide mineral with formula Fe2+Cr2O4. It is a member of the spinel group and a high pressure polymorph of chromite.

Panethite, chemical formula , is a rare phosphate mineral that was only found in one meteorite on Earth. It was originally found in the Dayton meteorite in Ohio. It is classified as H-M symbol (2/m) with space group of P21/n. It is amber in color. It was named in the honor of Friedrich Adolf Paneth (1887–1958), a German chemist who made many contributions toward the discovery of the origin of the universe, and especially studies of meteorites.

Yagiite is a cyclosilicate mineral belonging to the osumilite group. It was discovered in 1968 in the iron meteorite that fell in Colomera in the province of Granada (Spain). Named after the Japanese mineralogist Kenzo Yagi, its CAS Registry Number is IMA1968-020.

Merrillite is a calcium phosphate mineral with the chemical formula Ca9NaMg(PO4)7. It is an anhydrous, sodium-rich member of the merrillite group of minerals.

Krotite is a natural mineral composed of calcium, aluminium and oxygen, with the molecular formula CaAl2O4. It is the low-pressure dimorph of CaAl2O4, of which the high-pressure dimorph is named dmitryivanovite.

Roaldite is a rare meteorite mineral containing iron, nickel and nitrogen. Its chemical formula is .

Maskelynite is a glassy material found in some meteorites and meteorite impact craters. Typical samples are similar in composition to plagioclase feldspar, and revert to that mineral when melted and recrystallized. It was named after British geologist M.H.N. Story-Maskelyne.

Brezinaite, discovered in 1969, is a rare mineral composed of chromium and sulfur. It is found in meteorites, such as the Tucson Ring meteorite (Irwin-Ainsa meteorite), its type locality. It was also found in the New Baltimore meteorite and the Sikhote-Alin meteorite. Brezinaite was named in honour of Aristides Brezina (1848–1909), a past director of the Mineralogy-Petrology Section of the Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria.

thumb|Uakitite (VN) within the meteorite Uakitite is a mineral found in a single meteorite on Earth, called the Uakit meteorite, that fell in the Bauntovsky Evenkiysky District, in Republic of Buryatia, Russia. It was named after the region in which it was found, .

Edscottite is an iron carbide mineral, with the formula Fe5C2. It was previously known to occur during iron smelting, but in 2019 was identified as occurring in nature, but not naturally occurring on Earth, when it was discovered in a meteorite.

Perryite is a nickel silicide mineral. It is found in extremely silicon-rich meteorites. The type material is housed at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington. It was first found in Horse Creek and described in 1963 by Fredriksson and Wickman. It was named after Stuart Hoffman Perry, an American meteorite collector. The mineral is typically found intermixed with troilite, an iron sulfide. It is a minor constituent of metal enstatite chondrite meteorites.

Seifertite is a silicate mineral with the formula SiO2 and is one of the densest polymorphs of silica. It has only been found in Martian and lunar meteorites, where it is presumably formed from either tridymite or cristobalite – other polymorphs of quartz – as a result of heating during the atmospheric entry and impact to the Earth, at an estimated minimal pressure of 35 GPa. It can also be produced in the laboratory by compressing cristobalite in a diamond anvil cell to pressures above 40 GPa. The mineral is named after Friedrich Seifert (born 1941), the founder of the Bayerisches G

Dmitryivanovite is a natural mineral composed of calcium, aluminium and oxygen, with the molecular formula CaAl2O4. It was reported in 2009 in a calcium-aluminium-rich inclusion in the carbonaceous chondrite meteorite 470 (NWA470) CH3, which landed in North Africa. The mineral name was chosen to honor Dmitriy A. Ivanov (1962–1986), a geologist, mineralogist, and petrologist who died on a field expedition.

Carlsbergite is a nitride mineral that has the chemical formula CrN, or chromium nitride.

Antitaenite is a meteoritic metal alloy mineral composed of iron (Fe) and 20–40% nickel (Ni), (and traces of other elements) that has a face centered cubic crystal structure.