A new kind of primitive chondrite, Allan Hills 85085

Allan Hills 85085 is a chemically and mineralogically unique chondrite whose components have suffered little metamorphism or alteration. This chondrite is unique because it has fewer and smaller chondrules (4 wt. %; mean diameter 16 μm) than any other chondrite, more metallic Fe,Ni (36%) and lithic and mineral silicate fragments (56%), and a lower abundance of troilite (2%) and volatiles. Most chondrules are cryptocrystalline or glassy and are depleted in volatiles, some small chondrules are also very depleted in refractory lithophiles. Matrix lumps (4%) partly resemble CI and CM matrices and may be foreign to the parental asteroid. Despite these differences, the components of ALH 85085 have some features common to most type 2 and the least metamorphosed type 3 chondrites: metallic Fe,Ni grains that contain 0.1–1 wt.% Cr, Si and P; Fe/(Fe + Mg) values of olivines, pyroxenes and chondrules are concentrated in the range 1–6 at.% with a few percent in the range 7–30%; porphyritic chondrules are chondritic in composition (except for their low volatile abundances). Thus the components of ALH 85085 probably have similar origins to those of components in other chondrites, and their properties largely reflect nebular, not asteroidal, processes.The bulk composition of ALH 85085 fits none of the nine groups of chondrites: it is richer in Fe (1.4 × CI levels when normalized to Si) and poorer in Na and S (0.1–0.2 × CI) than other chondrites. Low volatile concentrations are due to a low matrix abundance and loss of volatiles during or prior to chondrule formation, not to volatile loss during metamorphism. Chondrule textures imply extensive heating of chondrule melts above the liquidus, consistent with loss of volatiles from small volumes of melt during chondrule formation. The small size of chondrules is partly due to extensive fragmentation by impacts, which may have occurred on the parent asteroid or in the solar nebula. Collisions between chondrule precursor aggregates in the nebula could also be responsible for the small sizes of chondrules.Assuming that ALH 85085 is a representative sample of an asteroid, its properties lend support to models for the origins of the Earth, eucrite parent body and volatile-poor iron meteorites that invoke chondritic planetesimals depleted in volatiles. The existence of ALH 85085 and Kakangari suggests that the nine chondrite groups may provide a remarkably poor sample of the primitive chondritic material from which the asteroids formed. Certain similarities between ALH 85085 and Bencubbin and Weatherford suggest that the latter two primitive meteorites may actually be chondrites with even higher metal abundances (50–60 wt.%) and very large, partly fragmented chondrules.     

Elemental abundances in chondrules from unequilibrated chondrites: Evidence for chondrule origin by melting of pre-existing materials

Bulk abundances of Na, Mg, Al, Ca, Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, La, Sm, Eu, Yb, Lu, Ir, and Au were determined by neutron activation analysis of chondrules separated from unequilibrated H-, L-, and LL-chondrites (Tieschitz, Hallingeberg, Chainpur, Semarkona) and correlated with chondrule petrographic properties. Despite wellknown compositional differences among the whole-rock chondrites, the geometric mean compositions of their respective chondrule suites are nearly indistinguishable from each other for many elements. Relative to the condensible bulk solar system (approximated by the Cl chondrite Orgueil), chondrules are enriched in lithophile and depleted in siderophile elements in a pattern consistent with chondrule formation by melting of pre-existing materials, preceded or attended by silicate/metal fractionation. Relative to nonporphyritic chondrules, porphyritic chondrules are enriched in refractory and siderophile elements, suggesting that these two chondrule groups may have formed from different precursor materials.     

High temperature rims around chondrules in primitive chondrites: evidence for fluctuating conditions in the solar nebula

Rims or rim sequences surrouding chondrules have been identified in carbonaceous and unequilibrated ordinary chondrites. These chondrule rims include three chemical subtypes: Fe,Ca-rich and Fe,Ni-metal-rich rims, which occur predominantly in Kainsaz (CO3), and ferromagnesian rims which occur in Kainsaz (CO3), Allende (CV3), Renazzo (CR2), Chainpur (LL3), Semarkona (LL3), Krymaka (L3), and Tieschitz (H3). The compositions of minerals in these rims are often drastically different from those in the underlying chondrule cores, indicating that the solar nebula was chemically heterogeneous. In many cases the compositions of the rims require an environment that was much more oxidizing than a solar composition gas. Particularly interesting is that some of the Fe,Ca-rich chondrule rims are remarkably similar to some of the rims around refractory inclusions, suggesting that chondrules and refractory inclusions experienced late, coeval processing. The textures of the chondrule rims suggest they formed at high temperatures and that they accreted onto chondrules that had already solidified. The lengthscale of the thermal heterogeneities necessary to make available hot material that could accrete to cold chondrules has been calculated to be less than 10 km, implying there were localized heat sources in the solar nebula.     

New kind of type 3 chondrite with a graphite-magnetite matrix

We have discovered four clasts in three ordinary-chondrite regolith breccias which are a new kind of type 3 chondrite. Like ordinary and carbonaceous type 3 chondrites, they have distinct chondrules, some of which contain glass, highly heterogeneous olivines and pyroxenes, and predominantly monoclinic low-Ca pyroxenes. But instead of the usual fine-grained, Fe-rich silicate matrix, the clasts have a matrix composed largely of aggregates of micron- and submicron-sized graphite and magnetite. The bulk compositions of the clasts as well as the types of chondrules (largely porphyritic) are typical of type 3 ordinary chondrites, although chondrules in the clasts are somewhat smaller (0.1–0.5 mm). A close relationship with ordinary chondrites is also indicated by the presence of similar graphite-magnetite aggregates in seven type 3 ordinary chondrites. This new kind of chondrite is probably the source of the abundant graphite-magnetite inclusions in ordinary-chondrite regolith breccias, and may be more common than indicated by the absence of whole meteorites made of chondrules and graphite-magnetite.     

The Niger (I) carbonaceous chondrite and implications for the origin of aggregates and isolated olivine grains in C2 chondrites

The origin of olivine grains in C2 carbonaceous chondrites is a controversial topic: directly condensed material or detrital remnants of preexisting chondrules? This study shows that the Niger C2 meteorite is similar to Murchison but reveals several interesting features in relation to the origin of the olivine. Microprobe analysis of olivine (Si, Fe, Mg, Ca, Mn, Cr), glass and nickel-iron inclusions within the grains, and Fe-S-O phase as well as the relationships between the olivine grains in the aggregates, between the grains and the interstitial phyllosilicate matrix, between the inclusions and their host olivine grains, and the morphology of some aggregates all show that two populations of olivine coexist, probably crystallized from chondrule melts rather than by direct condensation from a solar nebula gas. The characteristics of the nickel-iron inclusions within the olivine suggest a magmatic chondrule-making stage from previously condensed materials.     

Structural deformation of the Leoville chondrite

Foliations defined by alignment of elongated chondrules have been noted previously in chondrites, but none displays this effect so well as Leoville (CV3). The shapes of Leoville chondrules were produced by deformation in situ, as indicated by inclusions and clasts with similar shapes and preferred orientations to those of chondrules. Similarities in the aspect ratios of apparent strain ellipses measured for chondrules alone (1.9 and 2.0 by several methods) and for the whole meteorite (2.0) indicate either that Leoville deformed homogeneously or that it deformed as a framework of touching chondrules. This amount of strain corresponds to approximately 33% uniaxial shortening, assuming constant volume. Because the strain ellipse was measured in only one orientation, this strain value is a minimum estimate for the meteorite. Lack of correlation between foliation and either shock or thermal effects argues that impact or metamorphism are unlikely to have produced this deformation. Compaction due to overburden from progressive accretion on the chondrite parent body is suggested to have been its cause.Estimates of maximum deviatoric stresses in the interiors of asteroid-sized bodies and constraints on maximum temperatures for CV3 chondrites are consistent with diffusional flow as the deformation mechanism for olivine in these chondrules. Diffusional flow is also suggested by the scarcity of observed lattice dislocations. Deformation of Leoville olivines by this mechanism at geologically reasonable strain rates appears to require higher temperatures than those believed to have been experienced by this meteorite (< 600°C). However, differences in olivine grain size, the presence of water, or a more complex deformation history might explain this discrepancy.     

Petrogenesis of opaque assemblages in the Ningqiang carbonaceous chondrite

Numerous round to oblate opaque assemblages (OAs) are found in chondrules and matrix of the Ningqiang carbonaceous chondrite. They are mainly composed of Ni-rich metal,magnetite,Fe,Ni-sulfides,with minor amounts of phosphate,phosphoran-olivine,pyroxene and trace amounts of nano-sized platinum-group metal alloys. The mineralogy of Ningqiang OAs is very similar to that of OAs previously reported in Ca,Al-rich inclusions of CV chondrites. Being a rare mineral phase in nature,phosphoran-olivine is thought to form by nonequilibrium reactions between P-bearing molten metal and olivine crystals during rapid cooling. Its occurrence in Ningqiang OAs indicates that the precursor of OAs was locally produced during chondrule formation,rather than directly condensed from the solar nebula as previously thought. The petrographic and mineralogical characteristics of Ningqiang OAs reveal that OAs formed by low temperature alterations of pre-existing homogeneous alloys within chondrules on a planetary body.     

Nitrogen abundances and isotopic compositions in stony meteorites

Nitrogen contents range from a few parts per million in ordinary chondrites and achondrites to several hundred parts per million in enstatite chondrites and carbonaceous chondrites. Four major isotopic groups are recognized: (1) C1 and C2 carbonaceous chondrites have δ¹⁵N of+30to+50%.; (2) enstatite chondrites have δ¹⁵N of?30to?40‰; (3) C3 chondrites have low δ¹⁵N with large internal variations; (4) ordinary chondrites have δ¹⁵N of?10to+20‰. The major variations are primary, representing isotopic abundances established at the time of condensation and accretion. Secondary processes, such as spallation reactions, solar wind implantation and metamorphic loss may cause small but observable isotopic variations in particular cases. The large isotopic difference between enstatite chondrites and carbonaceous chondrites cannot be accounted for by equilibrium condensation from a homogeneous nebular gas, and requires either unusually large kinetic effects, or a temporal or spatial variation of isotopic composition of the nebula. Nitrogen isotopic heterogeneity in the nebula due to nuclear processes has not been firmly established, but may be required to account for the large variations found within the Allende and Leoville meteorites. The unique carbonaceous chondrite, Renazzo, has δ¹⁵N of+170%., which is well beyond the range of all other data, and also requires a special source. It is not yet possible, from the meteoritic data, to establish the mode of accretion of nitrogen onto the primitive Earth.     

Oxygen isotopic constraints on the origin of Mg-rich olivines from chondritic meteorites

Chondrules are the major high temperature components of chondritic meteorites which accreted a few millions years after the oldest solids of the solar system, the calcium–aluminum-rich inclusions, were condensed from the nebula gas. Chondrules formed during brief heating events by incomplete melting of solid dust precursors in the protoplanetary disk. Petrographic, compositional and isotopic arguments allowed the identification of metal-bearing Mg-rich olivine aggregates among the precursors of magnesian type I chondrules. Two very different settings can be considered for the formation of these Mg-rich olivines: either a nebular setting corresponding mostly to condensation–evaporation processes in the nebular gas or a planetary setting corresponding mostly to differentiation processes in a planetesimal. An ion microprobe survey of Mg-rich olivines of a set of type I chondrules and isolated olivines from unequilibrated ordinary chondrites and carbonaceous chondrites revealed the existence of several modes in the distribution of the ?¹⁷O values and the presence of a large range of mass fractionation (several ‰) within each mode. The chemistry and the oxygen isotopic compositions indicate that Mg-rich olivines are unlikely to be of nebular origin (i.e., solar nebula condensates) but are more likely debris of broken differentiated planetesimals (each of them being characterized by a given ?¹⁷O). Mg-rich olivines could have crystallized from magma ocean-like environments on partially molten planetesimals undergoing metal–silicate differentiation processes. Considering the very old age of chondrules, Mg-rich olivine grains or aggregates might be considered as millimeter-sized fragments from disrupted first-generation differentiated planetesimals. Finally, the finding of only a small number of discrete ?¹⁷O modes for Mg-rich olivines grains or aggregates in a given chondrite suggests that these shattered fragments have not been efficiently mixed in the disk and/or that chondrite formation occurred in the first vicinity of the breakup of these planetary bodies.     

The case for an unfractionated244Pu/238U ratio in high-temperature condensates

The coarse-grained, Ca-rich inclusions in the Allende meteorite are the highest-temperature condensates from the cooling solar nebula and, as such, the oldest solid objects in the solar system. All refractory elements with condensation points above the accretion temperature of the inclusions whose concentrations in them have been measured are seen to be present in the inclusions in unfractionated proportion to one another relative to C1 chondrites when data are averaged for a large number of inclusions. Observational data for U and theoretical data for both U and Pu suggest that these elements exhibited refractory behavior in the solar nebula. An experiment is proposed in which fissiogenic Xe and U contents are measured in a suite of these inclusions to obtain the²⁴⁴Pu/²³⁸U ratio of the solar system at the time of initial condensation with an uncertainty of ±15%.     

The Adhi Kot breccia and implications for the origin of chondrules and silica-rich clasts in enstatite chondrites

The Adhi Kot EH4 enstatite chondrite breccia consists of silica-rich clasts (12+mn; 5 vol.%), chondrule-rich clasts (55+mn; 10 vol.%) and matrix (35+mn; 10 vol.%). The silica-rich clasts are a new kind of enstatite chondritic material, which contains more cristobalite (18–28 wt.%) than enstatite (12–14 wt.%), as well as abundant niningerite and troilite. The bulk atomic Mg/Si ratios of the clasts (0.22–0.40) are much lower than the average for enstatite chondrites (0.79). Kamacite and martensite (with 8–11 wt.% Ni and a martensitic structure) occur in all three breccia components. The clasts have kamacite-rich rims, and kamacite-rich aggregates occur in the matrix.A unidirectional change in the ambient pS₂/pO₂ ratio in the region of the solar nebula where Adhi Kot agglomerated can explain many of the breccia's petrologic features. If this region initially had a very high pS₂/pO₂ ratio in a gas of non-cosmic composition, sulfurization of enstatite and metallic Fe (e.g., MgSiO₃ + 2Fe + C + 3H₂S = MgS + SiO₂ + 2FeS + H₂O + CH₄) may have occurred, producing abundant niningerite, free silica and troilite at the expense of enstatite and metallic Fe. The Ni content of the residual metal would have increased, perhaps to ～ 8–10 wt.%. The silica-rich clasts agglomerated under these conditions; a significant fraction of the originally produced niningerite was lost (perhaps by aerodynamic size-sorting processes), lowering the clasts' bulk Mg/Si ratios.The pS₂/pO₂ ratio then decreased (perhaps because of infusion of additional H₂O) and sulfurization of metallic Fe and enstatite ceased. The chondrule-rich clasts agglomerated under these conditions, acquiring little free silica and niningerite. An episode of chondrule formation occurred at this time (by melting millimeter-sized agglomerates of this relatively silica-poor enstatite chondrite material and concomitant fractionation of an immiscible liquid of metallic Fe,Ni and sulfide). The chondrule-rich clasts agglomerated many such chondrules. Subsequently, the matrix agglomerated, acquiring the few remaining chondrules. Kamacite-rich aggregates formed, after the cessation of metal sulfurization, and agglomerated with the matrix. The kamacite-rich clast rims were acquired at this time.The components of Adhi Kot accreted to the EH chondrite parent body, where the breccia was assembled, buried beneath additional accreting material, and metamorphosed at temperatures of ? 700°C. Impact-excavation of the breccia and deposition onto the surface caused the formation of martensite from taenite inside the clasts and the matrix. At the surface, impact-melting produced an albite glass spherule, which was incorporated into the matrix. However, the absence of solar-wind-implanted rare gases in bulk Adhi Kot indicates that the breccia spent little time in a regolith.     

Zirconium isotope evidence for incomplete admixing of r-process components in the solar nebula

Isotopic anomalies in Mo and Zr have recently been reported for bulk chondrites and iron meteorites and have been interpreted in terms of a primordial nucleosynthetic heterogeneity in the solar nebula. We report precise Zr isotopic measurements of carbonaceous, ordinary and enstatite chondrites, eucrites, mesosiderites and lunar rocks. All bulk rock samples yield isotopic compositions that are identical to the terrestrial standard within the analytical uncertainty. No anomalies in ⁹²Zr are found in any samples including high Nb/Zr eucrites and high and low Nb/Zr calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs). These data are consistent with the most recent estimates of <10⁻⁴ for the initial ⁹²Nb/⁹³Nb of the solar system. There exists a trace of isotopic heterogeneity in the form of a small excess of r-process ⁹⁶Zr in some refractory CAIs and some metal-rich phases of Renazzo. A more striking enrichment in ⁹⁶Zr is found in acetic acid leachates of the Allende CV carbonaceous chondrite. These data indicate that the r- and s-process Zr components found in presolar grains were well mixed on a large scale prior to planetary accretion. However, some CAIs formed before mixing was complete, such that they were able to sample a population of r-process-enriched material. The maximum amount of additional r-process component that was added to the otherwise well-mixed Zr in the molecular cloud or disk corresponds to ∼0.01%.     

Mineralogy and petrology of the Abee enstatite chondrite breccia and its dark inclusions

The Abee E4 enstatite chondrite breccia consists of clasts (many rimmed by metallic Fe, Ni), dark inclusions and matrix. The clasts and matrix were well equilibrated by thermal metamorphism, as evidenced by uniform mineral compositions, recrystallized chondrules, low MnO content of enstatite and high abundance of orthoenstatite. The clasts acquired their metal-rich rims prior to this metamorphic episode. The occurrence in Abee of relatively unmetamorphosed dark inclusions, clasts with nearly random magnetic orientations and a matrix with a uniform magnetic orientation [18,19] indicates that clast and matrix metamorphism occurred prior to the agglomeration of the breccia.The dark inclusions are an unusual kind of enstatite chondritic material, distinguished from the clasts and matrix by their relative enrichments in REE [21–23], low relative abundances of kamacite, total metallic Fe, Ni and silica, lower niningerite/(total sulfide) ratios, high relative abundances of oldhamite and martensite, smaller euhedral enstatite, more heterogeneous enstatite and metallic Fe, Ni, more calcic enstatite and more nickeliferous schreibersite.We propose the following model for the petrogenesis of the Abee breccia: The maximum metamorphic temperature of breccia parent material was?- 840°C (the minimum temperature of formation of Abee niningerite) and perhaps near 950–1000°C (the Fe-Ni-S eutectic temperature). Euhedral enstatite crystals in metallic Fe, Ni- and sulfide-rich areas grew at these metamorphic temperatures into pliable metal and sulfide. Breccia parent material was impact-excavated from depth, admixed with dark inclusions and rapidly cooled (700 to 200°C in about 2 hours) [15]. During this cooling, clast and matrix material acquired thermal remanent magnetization. Random conglomeration of clasts and unconsolidated matrix materials caused the clasts to have random magnetic orientations and the matrix areas to have net magnetic intensities of zero (due to the cancellation of numerous randomly oriented magnetic vectors of equal intensity in the matrix). A subsequent ambient magnetic field imparted a uniform net magnetic orientation to the matrix and caused the magnetic orientations of the clasts to be somewhat less random. The Abee breccia was later consolidated, possibly by shock or by shallow burial and very long-period/low-temperature (< 215°C) metamorphism.     

Evidence for relict grains in chondrules of Qingzhen,an E3 type enstatite chondrite

Petrographic and chemical studies of the Qingzhen chondrite strongly suggest that it is the most highly unequilibrated (type 3) enstatite chondrite recognized so far. Qingzhen contains abundant, well-defined chondrules, some of which were incompletely molten during the chondrule formation process. The relict olivine grains within these chondrules contain dusty inclusions of almost pure metallic Fe, which appear to be the in-situ reduction product of the fayalitic component of the olivine. The reduction process presumably took place at the time of chondrule formation and the chondrule precursor material must have been more oxidized than average enstatite chondrite material. We believe that this oxidized material may have formed at the enstatite chondrite formation location in the solar nebula, provided fluctuations in the degree of oxidation of the nebular gas existed at such locations. Reheating of this material under more reducing conditions would lead to the observed reduction of the olivine. Igneous olivines within chondrules always contain detectable amounts of CaO, while relict olivines are essentially CaO-free. This seems to suggest that the relict olivines did not originate during a previous igneous process of chondrule formation and might represent condensation products from the early solar nebula.     

The interstellar dust as a precursor of Ca,Al-rich inclusions in carbonaceous chondrites

(1) The observed anomalies in meteoritic oxygen isotope compositions are not due to an incomplete mixing of several dust or gas-plus-dust components in the solar nebula. If they were, other elements would display similar anomalies. (The FUN inclusions in Allende appear to be exceptions to this premise.) (2) The anomalies must therefore stem from differing degrees of incomplete exchange of oxygen isotopes between the primordial gas and dust components of the nebula. The dust is more likely to have been the¹⁶O-enriched component. (3) Since the isotopic difference between dust and gas probably could not have been preserved if the dust was ever completely vaporized in the nebula, the Ca,Al-rich inclusions (CAI's) in carbonaceous chondrites are unlikely to be condensates, but instead are distillation residues. (4) If so, the observed depletion of super-refractory elements in the Group II CAI's cannot have been accomplished by fractional condensation in the solar nebula. (5) Then this depletion, and a number of other properties of the components of primitive meteoritic material, must be relics of pre-solar system fractionations among different populations of interstellar dust grains.     

Stable calcium isotopic composition of meteorites and rocky planets

New measurements of mass-dependent calcium isotope effects in meteorites, lunar and terrestrial samples show that Earth, Moon, Mars, and differentiated asteroids (e.g., 4-Vesta and the angrite and aubrite parent bodies) are indistinguishable from primitive ordinary chondritic meteorites at our current analytical resolution (± 0.07‰ SD for the ⁴⁴Ca/⁴⁰Ca ratio). In contrast, enstatite chondritic meteorites are slightly enriched in heavier calcium isotopes (ca. + 0.5‰) and primitive carbonaceous chondritic meteorites are depleted in heavier calcium isotopes (ca. ? 0.5‰). The calcium isotope effects cannot be easily ascribed to evaporation or intraplanetary differentiation processes. The isotopic variations probably survive from the earliest stages of nebular condensation, and indicate that condensation occurred under non-equilibrium (undercooled nebular gas) conditions. Some of this early high-temperature calcium isotope heterogeneity is recorded by refractory inclusions (Niederer and Papanastassiou, 1984) and survived in planetesimals, but virtually none of it survived through terrestrial planet accretion. The new calcium isotope data suggest that ordinary chondrites are representative of the bulk of the refractory materials that formed the terrestrial planets; enstatite and carbonaceous chondrites are not. The enrichment of light calcium isotopes in bulk carbonaceous chondrites implies that their compositions are not fully representative of the solar nebula condensable fraction.     

Reply to Edward Anders: A discussion of alternative models for explaining the distribution of moderately volatile elements in ordinary chondrites

The high observed abundances of Na and Cu in chondrules indicate that the amount of loss during chondrule formation was minor and possibly negligible, consistent with the view that loss was controlled by diffusion kinetics rather than equilibrium volatility, and that the surface of the chondrule quickly cooled to temperatures at which diffusional transport was negligible. Ordinary chondrite/CI abundance ratios appear to be randomly distributed in the range 0.9-0.1. Very few values are observed in the 0.36–0.70 range, but this is not statistically significant, nor is it predicted by the two-component (chondrule-matrix) model.If CI chondrite abundances are representative of mean solar-system material, the very low chondrule content in CM chondrites (<5% of high-temperature materials) indicates that the observed volatile distribution resulted from incomplete accretion of volatile carriers (perhaps a fine aerosol). At the ordinary chondrite formation location the fraction of an element sited in unaccreted carriers increased with decreasing condensation temperature. At the CM location a similar trend is observed for elements less volatile than S, but the unaccreted fraction of more volatile elements was nearly constant.     

A constraint on impact theories of chondrule formation

The association between agglutinates and chondrule-like spherules, which characterizes the assemblage of impact-derived melt products in lunar regolith samples and some gas-rich achondrites, is not found in primitive chondrites. This observation suggests that impacts into a parent-body regolith are unlikely to have produced the chondrules. We believe that if chondrules were formed from impact melt, it was probably generated by jetting during particle-to-particle collisions, presumably in the nebula.     

On the origin of isolated olivine grains in type 2 carbonaceous chondrites

The origin of olivine grains isolated in the matrix of C2 carbonaceous chondrites is an important problem. If these grains are condensates from a solar nebular gas, they contain compositional, isotopic and physical features that further elucidate that process. If, however, they are grains released by the breakup of chondrules, then many important condensation features have been lost during the melting that took place to form chondrules.In evaluating these two possibilities, care must be taken to determine which inclusions in C2 meteorites are actual chondrules and which are aggregates of grains that have never undergone melting. The two main types of aggregates, pyroxene-rich and pyroxene-poor, are forty to fifty times more abundant than chondrules. Four scenarios are presented to account for the kinds of aggregates and isolated grains seen in the Murchison C2 meteorite. An analysis of these scenarios is made in light of olivine crystal morphology, comparison of composition of glass inclusions inside olivine grains with interstitial glass in true chondrules and size distributions of olivines, isolated, in aggregates and in chondrules.It is concluded that no scenario that includes a chondrule-making step can account for the observed population of isolated olivine grains. An origin by direct condensation, partial comminution, aggregation and accretion best accounts for the sizes and morphological features observed.     

The solar Na/Ca and S/Ca ratios: A close comparison with carbonaceous chondrites

Solar abundances based on recent laboratory oscillator strengths confirm the relationship between solar matter and carbonaceous chondrites. Within spectroscopic uncertainties (typically±40%) these meteorites contain refractory and volatile elements in solar proportions. Significant improvement of accuracy at present seems restricted to a few abundant elements having reliable quantum-mechanical oscillator strengths, and necessitates strictly differential spectrum analysis. Taking this into account, the solar abundance ratios Na/Ca and S/Ca have been determined to an accuracy of±15%. The results are:Na/Ca= 0.91and S/Ca= 6.8. These volatile/refractory ratios just match type 1 carbonaceous chondrites, but contrast with other types.These and related interstellar abundance features place constraints on the condensation process and a potential heterogeneity of the solar nebula. There is evidence that no drastic pre-solar separation of interstellar gas and grains has occurred, but minor imbalance may be a common mechanism co-determining stellar metal content.