[meteorite-list] Crystals in Lunar Meteorites...?

From: Randy Korotev <korotev_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:05:38 -0600
Message-ID: <201012291904.oBTJ41X04534_at_levee.wustl.edu>

Greg:

All lunar meteorites contain mineral crystals. The basalts (both
breccias and unbrecciated) are composed mainly of crystals of
pyroxene and plagioclase feldspar. Some contain olivine, and all
contain minor ilmenite and related iron-titanium minerals. The
feldspathic breccias are largely crystalline. The only
noncrystalline material is glass and a little metal. "Crushed rock"
is crushed crystalline material. In some lunar meteorites the
plagioclase has been shock converted to maskelynite which,
technically, isn't a crystal but more like glass.

Put another way, in photomicrographs of lunar meteorites (or any
rock) under "cross-polarized light" (NOT "plane polarized light") or
"crossed nichols," any and all non-black material is crystalline.

There are some here:

http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/antmet/PDFFiles/B07_LAP02205v3.pdf < basalt >
http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/antmet/PDFFiles/F23_GRA06157v3.pdf <
feldspathic breccia >
http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/antmet/PDFFiles/F24_LAR06638v3.pdf <
feldspathic breccia >
http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/antmet/PDFFiles/M07_MET01210v3.pdf <
basaltic breccia >

Does this answer your question?

Randy Korotev






At 11:59 AM 2010-12-29 Wednesday, you wrote:

>List:
>
>I hope everyone had a prosperous and joyful Holiday Season.
>
>I was wondering something:
>
>Do lunar meteorites ever contain crystals? Or are the just crushed
>rock and lunar soil compacted together? From what I've been able to
>find is that any basalt type rock containing white feldspar that are
>crystals or if there is opaque crystals (ilmenite or
>magnetite...etc.), then it cannot be lunar, is this true? Are there
>some cases where you could find crystals within a lunar rock?
>
>Much Thanks and everyone have a happy New Year.
>
>Greg S.
>
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Received on Wed 29 Dec 2010 02:05:38 PM PST