Meteorite/Planetary Science Quiz

Question #5

What are the most water-rich and water-poor meteorites?

The answer is Carbonaceous chondrites and ordinary chondrites.

Meteorites show a gross correlation between their water content and their original heliocentric distance. Carbonaceous chondrites, from the outer asteroid belt (2.5 to 4 AU) are some of the most water-rich meteorites whereas ordinary chondrites (including enstatites), from the innermost part of the asteroid belt ( 2 AU) are the driest known meteorites in the solar system.

Note: While diogenites are a group of stony meteorites (achondrites), Arizonites are purely ficticious.

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