Kaidun meteorite
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The Kaidun meteorite is a meteorite that fell on March 12, 1980 on a Soviet military base (lat. 15° N, long. 48.3° E) in Yemen. It contains a uniquely wide variety of minerals, causing some confusion as to its origin. In March 2004 it was suggested that the meteorite originated from the Martian moon Phobos.[1][2]
It is largely made up of carbonaceous chondrite material of type CR2, but it is known to contain fragments of other types, such as C1, CM1, and C3. Of the nearly 60 minerals found within the meteorite, several have not been found elsewhere in nature, such as florenskiite, which has chemical symbol FeTiP.
The reason Phobos has been suggested is the existence of two extremely rare alkaline-rich clasts visible in the meteorite, each of which entered the rock at different times. This suggests that the parent body would have been near a source of an alkaline-rich rock, which is in particular a product of deep differentiation. This points to Mars and one of its moons, and Phobos is more likely than Deimos because it is closer to Mars.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ "'Weird' meteorite may be from Mars moon" April 22, 2004 New Scientist article. URL accessed March 18, 2006.
- ^ Ivanov, A. V. (2004) "Is the Kaidun Meteorite a Sample from Phobos?" (abstract only) Solar System Research, v. 38, Issue 2, p. 97-107.
- ^ "The Kaidun Meteorite: Where Did It Come From?"
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