Aubrite Meteorite

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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

 
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