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Enstatite
Chondrites
Breccia, Abee
(EH4)impact-melt enstatite chondrite.
Enstatite (E)
chondrites are a rare and unusual type of
meteorite. Excluding Antarctic and NWA finds, only 24 falls and finds of E
chondrites have been recorded out of the over 2,000 stone meteorites known to
date. E chondrites are unusual in that they are high in the mineral
enstatite and most of their iron is in the
form of metal or sulfide rather than taken up as oxides in silicates. This
implies that E chondrites formed in an area of the solar nebula that was very
poor in oxygen, possibly inside the orbit of Mercury.
As with ordinary chondrites, E
chondrites are further classified by H and L for their iron content and by
petrologic grades 3 to 6. EH chondrites
contain approximately 30% iron, while EL chondrites are about 25%
iron.
The Abee EH impact-melt breccia chondrite is a
rare example of a rare classification.

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