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Chondrule‐like objects and brown glasses in howardites
Author(s) -
Olsen Edward J.,
Fredriksson Kurt,
Rajan Sundar,
Noonan Albert
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
meteoritics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1945-5100
pISSN - 0026-1114
DOI - 10.1111/j.1945-5100.1990.tb00996.x
Subject(s) - chondrule , achondrite , chondrite , parent body , meteorite , geology , asteroid , astrobiology , ordinary chondrite , geochemistry , materials science , mineralogy , physics
— Chondrule‐like objects and brown glasses were analyzed in the howardites, Bununu, Malvern, Monticello, Pavlovka, and Yamato 7308. The objects are very similar to chondrules in ordinary and carbonaceous chondrites. Like the brown glasses the chondrule‐like objects could have been produced by impact melting that left some crystalline nuclei, followed by a slower cooling rate than for the glasses. Alternatively, these objects are chondrules implanted from chondrite impactors. They are, however, without rims or any adhering matrix. The brown glasses appear to represent melting of average regolithic surface material, except for Monticello and Y7308, both of which have some siliceous glasses. The siliceous glasses could not have been produced by vapor fractionation but by melting of differentiated lithologies such as fayalitic granites. Impact mechanics indicates that howardites with abundant brown glasses came from an asteroid larger than Vesta (>400 km radius), upon which impacts occurred at relative velocities of up to 5 km/s. Howardites with little or no brown glasses came from a smaller parent body. We conclude that at least two parent bodies are likely sources for the basaltic achondrites.