The mineralogical composition of asteroids can be constrained using visible and near-IR (VNIR) spectroscopy. The most prominent spectral features observed over this wavelength range are due to olivine and pyroxene, the two most abundant minerals in both chondritic and achondritic meteorites. The observed ratio of these two minerals is highly dependent on the amount of heating that an asteroid h...

Introduction: Only 5 meteorites were classified into unbrecciated lunar mare basalt so far, although there are about 40 lunar meteorites known to date. NWA 032 and its paired meteorite NWA 479 (NWA) are such crystalline mare basalts, and show a porphy-ritic texture composed of euhedral olivine and pyrox-ene grains with dendritic mesostasis of pyroxene, pla-gioclase and accessory minerals (ilmen...

Geochemical modeling using the basalt composition analyzed at the Vega 2 landing site indicates that intermediate to silicic liquids can be generated by fractional crystallization and equilibrium partial melting. Fractional crystallization modeling using variable pressures (0.01 GPa to 0.5 GPa) and relative oxidation states (FMQ 0 and FMQ -1) of either a wet (H2O = 0.5 wt%) or dry (H2O = 0 wt%)...

Calcium Tschermak’s pyroxene (CaTs), CaAlAlSiO6, is well known as an important component in pyroxene. It is a member of the Ca clinopyroxene group in which Al dominates in the M1 site. Pyroxenes with more than 80 mol% CaTs were observed previously in Ca-,Al-rich refractory inclusions (CAI) from five carbonaceous chondrites. This study re-investigated the near end-member CaTs in the Allende and ...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are known to be present in many astrophysical objects and environments, but our understanding of their formation mechanism(s) is far from satisfactory. In this paper, we describe an investigation of the catalytic conversion reaction of acetylene gas to PAHs over pyroxene and alumina. Crystalline silicates such as pyroxenes (with general formula [Mg, Fe]Si...

Introduction: The shergottite basalts, meteorites of Martian origin, contain rare small grains (~10-100 μm diam.) of kaersutite, a Ca-amphibole rich in Al and Ti [1-3]. Kaersutites have been used to estimate the water content of shergottites and the Martian mantle [4]; however, questions remain about the original water content of the amphiboles [5] and if they formed from magma [6]. We investig...

In the southeast of bam, there is a collection of volcanic rocks with andesite, basalt and trachy andesite composition. The texture of these rocks are often porphyritic with microlithic, porphyric cavity, and sometimes glomerulophorphuri, sore throat trachytic. Main minerals include Olivine, Clinopyroxene, Plagioclase and secondary minerals including opaque minerals, Iodenzyte, secondary Biotit...