Petrology, mineralogy, porosity, and cosmic-ray exposure history of Huaxi ordinary chondrite

Li, S., Wang, S., Leya, I., Li, Y., Li, X. and Smith, T.

Meteoritics & Planetary Science
doi: 10.1111/maps.12842
Version of Record online: 28 FEB 2017

LINK

“A meteorite fall was heard and collected on July 13, 2010 at about 18:00 (local time) in the Shibanjing village of the Huaxi district of Guiyang, Guizhou province, China. The total mass of the fall is estimated to be at least 1.6 kg; some fragments are missing. The meteorite consists mainly of olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, high-Ca pyroxene, plagioclase, kamacite, taenite, and troilite. Minor phases include chromite and apatite. Various textural types of chondrules exist in this meteorite: most chondrule textures can be easily defined. The grain sizes of secondary plagioclase in this meteorite range from 2 to 50 μm. The chemical composition of olivine and low-Ca pyroxene are uniform; Fa in olivine and Fs in low-Ca pyroxene are, respectively, 19.6 ± 0.2 and 17.0 ± 0.3 (mole%). Huaxi has been classified as an H5 ordinary chondrite, with a shock grade S2, and weathering W0. The weak shock features, rare fractures, and the high porosity (17.6%) indicates that Huaxi is a less compacted meteorite. The preatmospheric radius of Huaxi is ~11 cm, corresponding to ~21 kg. The meteorite experienced a relatively short cosmic-ray exposure of about 1.6 ± 0.1 Ma. The 4He and 40Ar retention ages are older than 4.6 Ga implying that Huaxi did not degas after thermal metamorphism on its parent body.”

Huaxi (Meteoritical Bulletin)