[meteorite-list] Enstatite Connection to Mercury

From: Carl Agee <agee_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:23:38 -0600
Message-ID: <CADYrzhoiLfsPBHMiS-zfq37M8d2cgUnhO5kT1Ck=NVhCCU-PHg_at_mail.gmail.com>

Pete,

That's right, no evidence for an angrite composition on the surface of
Mercury -- at least not yet. Angrites have far too much FeO in the
silicates to match the spectra of Mercury. Also, angrites are among
the oldest igneous rocks in the solar system (SAH 99555 is probably
the oldest known igneous rock), and you would expect to see somewhat
younger ages from a planet (like Mercury or Mars) or even a large body
like our Moon -- it takes millions of years to differentiate and form
a crust.

Who knows, maybe some aubrites are from Mercury, or maybe we need to
keep searching!

Best regards,

Carl Agee

--
Carl B. Agee
Director and Curator, Institute of Meteoritics
Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences
MSC03 2050
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131-1126
Tel: (505) 750-7172
Fax: (505) 277-3577
Email: agee at unm.edu
http://meteorite.unm.edu/people/carl_agee/
---------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:09:30 -0400
From: Pete Pete <rsvp321 at hotmail.com>
Subject: [meteorite-list] Enstatite Connection to Mercury
To: meteoritelist meteoritelist <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Message-ID: <BAY153-W19B649238A92ACC6A2AA84F89E0 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi, All,
I just came across this:
Mercury's Surface Resembles Rare Meteorites
http://www.space.com/17727-mercury-surface-rare-meteorites.html
http://www.space.com/17727-mercury-surface-rare-meteorites.html
..."The surface is dominated by minerals high in magnesium and
enriched in sulfur, making it similar to partially melted versions of
an enstatite chondrite,
a rare type of meteorite that formed at high temperatures in
low-oxygen conditions in the inner solar system."
(The price of enstatites just went up!;))
Unless I've missed it, there hasn't been any connection of angrites to
Mercury come out of Messenger's analysed data, correct?
It's safe to assume angrites have an unknown source but not Mercury,
at this time?
Best,
Pete
------------------------------

Received on Tue 25 Sep 2012 02:23:38 PM PDT