Vermillion meteorite

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Vermillion
A small rock with a question mark superimposed on its centre
Type Achondrite, pallasite
Grouplet Pyroxene pallasite grouplet
Composition Meteoric iron (~86 %) silicates (~14 %)
Country USA
Region Kansas
Coordinates 39°44′11″N 96°21′41″W / 39.73639°N 96.36139°W / 39.73639; -96.36139Coordinates: 39°44′11″N 96°21′41″W / 39.73639°N 96.36139°W / 39.73639; -96.36139
Observed fall No
Found date 1991
TKW 34.36 kilograms (75.8 lb)

The Vermillion meteorite is a pallasite (stony-iron) meteorite and one of two members of the pyroxene pallasite grouplet.[1]

Contents

Discovery[edit]

The meteorite was found near and was named after Vermillion, Marshall County, Kansas. It was found by two farmers while planting on a grain field in 1991. It was recognized as a meteorite and first described in 1995.[2]

Mineralogy[edit]

Vermillion meteorite consists of around 86 volume-% meteoric iron and 14 % silicate minerals. The silicates include olivine (93% of silicates), orthopyroxene (5%), chromite (1.5%) and merrillite (0.5%).[3] Other accessory minerals include troilite, whitlockite,[1] and cohenite.[4]

Classification[edit]

The Vermillion meteorite is classified as a pyroxene pallasite because it contains pyroxene as an accessory mineral and shares a distinct oxygen isotope signature with Yamato 8451.[1] Some studies also object to this grouping, referring to the differences in siderophile trace elements and the occurrence of cohenite in the Vermillion meteorite.[4]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Binze, D.S. Lauretta, H.Y. McSween, Jr., editors ; foreword by Richard P.; T. J. McCoy, A. N. Krot (2006). "Systematics and Evaluation of Meteorite Classification". Meteorites and the early solar system II. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. pp. 19–52. ISBN 978-0816525621. Retrieved 15 December 2012.  More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  2. ^ "Vermillion". Meteoritical Society. 
  3. ^ Boesenberg, J. S.; M. Prinz, M. K. Weisberg, A. M. Davis, R. N. Clyton, T. K. Mayeda (1995). "Pyroxene Pallasites: A New Pallasite Grouplet". Meteoritics 30: 488–489. Retrieved 29 December 2012. 
  4. ^ a b Boesenberg, Joseph S.; Davis, Andrew M.; Prinz, Martin; Weisberg, Michael K.; Clayton, Robert N.; Mayeda, Toshiko K. (1 July 2000). "The pyroxene pallasites, Vermillion and Yamato 8451: Not quite a couple". Meteoritics & Planetary Science 35 (4): 757–769. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.2000.tb01460.x. 
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