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Petrology, mineralogy, porosity, and cosmic‐ray exposure history of Huaxi ordinary chondrite
Author(s) -
Li Shijie,
Wang Shijie,
Leya Ingo,
Li Yang,
Li Xiongyao,
Smith Thomas
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
meteoritics and planetary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.09
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1945-5100
pISSN - 1086-9379
DOI - 10.1111/maps.12842
Subject(s) - troilite , meteorite , pyroxene , ordinary chondrite , geology , chondrite , chondrule , kamacite , olivine , plagioclase , geochemistry , parent body , shock metamorphism , mineralogy , astrobiology , physics , paleontology , quartz
A meteorite fall was heard and collected on July 13, 2010 at about 18:00 (local time) in the Shibanjing village of the Huaxi district of Guiyang, Guizhou province, China. The total mass of the fall is estimated to be at least 1.6 kg; some fragments are missing. The meteorite consists mainly of olivine, low‐Ca pyroxene, high‐Ca pyroxene, plagioclase, kamacite, taenite, and troilite. Minor phases include chromite and apatite. Various textural types of chondrules exist in this meteorite: most chondrule textures can be easily defined. The grain sizes of secondary plagioclase in this meteorite range from 2 to 50 μm. The chemical composition of olivine and low‐Ca pyroxene are uniform; Fa in olivine and Fs in low‐Ca pyroxene are, respectively, 19.6 ± 0.2 and 17.0 ± 0.3 (mole%). Huaxi has been classified as an H5 ordinary chondrite, with a shock grade S2, and weathering W0. The weak shock features, rare fractures, and the high porosity (17.6%) indicates that Huaxi is a less compacted meteorite. The preatmospheric radius of Huaxi is ~11 cm, corresponding to ~21 kg. The meteorite experienced a relatively short cosmic‐ray exposure of about 1.6 ± 0.1 Ma. The 4 He and 40 Ar retention ages are older than 4.6 Ga implying that Huaxi did not degas after thermal metamorphism on its parent body.