Aubrite Meteorite

February 15, 2023

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The Diyodar Meteorite that crashed in Gujarat in 2022 is a rare aubrite, seen in India just once before in 1852.

About

Aubrites are a type of meteorite that are coarse-grained igneous rocks formed in poor-oxygen conditions, and thus contain a variety of exotic minerals that are not found on Earth.
- For example, the mineral heideite was first described in the Basti meteorite.
They are named after the Aubres meteorite, which fell in France in 1836.
Around 90% of the Diyodar meteorite was composed of orthopyroxene. Pyroxenes are silicates consisting of single chains of silica tetrahedra. Orthopyroxenes are pyroxenes with a certain structure.
Rocks with pyroxene have also been used to make crushed stone that is used in construction.
When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere (or that of another planet, like Mars) at high speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors. When a meteoroid survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite.

Additional Information

A meteor is a streak of light in the sky caused by a meteoroid crashing through Earth’s atmosphere.
Meteoroids are lumps of rock or iron that orbit the sun. Most meteoroids are small fragments of rock created by asteroid collisions.
When a meteoroid enters the Earth’s upper atmosphere, it heats up due to friction from the air. The heat causes gases around the meteoroid to glow brightly, and a meteor appears.

Source: The Hindu