Second aubrite meteorite found in India in 170 years – Diyodar meteorite

Subject : Geography

Section: Physical Geography ( Geomorphology)

Concept :

On August 17, 2022, a meteorite streaked over India, breaking apart as it descended through the air, to scatter over two villages in Banaskantha, Gujarat.
The meteorite is a “rare, unique specimen” of aubrite, analysis by a group of scientists at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, has revealed.
India has been the site of hundreds of meteorite crashes but this is only the 2nd recorded aubrite crash. The past was in 1852 in Basti, Uttar Pradesh.

Diyodar Meteorite

Aubrite meteorite is a coarse-grained igneous rock that formed in oxygen-poor conditions and contains exotic minerals not found on Earth.
For example, the mineral heideite was first described in the Basti meteorite.
The meteorite has been named the Diyodar meteorite after the taluka in which the villages are located.
Around 90% of the Diyodar meteorite was composed of orthopyroxene.
Aubrites are typically light-colored with a brownish fusion crust. Most aubrites are heavily brecciated; they are often said to look “lunar” in origin.
Aubrites are primarily composed of large white crystals of the Fe-poor, Mg-rich orthopyroxene, or enstatite, with minor phases of olivine, nickel-iron metal, and troilite, indicating a magmatic formation under extremely reducing conditions.
Source of origin: Scientists are not yet sure of their origin, but some signs indicate that they could be from the asteroid 3103 Eger or from the planet Mercury.

Pyroxenes

Pyroxenes are silicates consisting of single chains of silica tetrahedra (SiO 4); orthopyroxenes are pyroxenes with a certain structure.
Pyroxenes such as diopside and jadeite have been used as gems. Spodumene was historically used as lithium ore. Rocks with pyroxene have also been used to make crushed stone that is used in construction.
Aubrites have crashed in at least 12 locations worldwide since 1836, including 3 in Africa and 6 in the U.S.

Meteorite

A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from space that survives its passage through the Earth’s atmosphere and lands on the Earth’s surface.
Difference between Meteor, Meteorite and Meteoroid:
The difference between a meteor, meteorite and meteoroid is nothing but where the object is.
Meteoroids are objects in space that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids.
But when meteoroids enter the Earth’s atmosphere, they are called meteors.
But if a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere and hits the ground, it is called a meteorite.