[meteorite-list] Itqiy "Oddball"

[bernd.pauli at paulinet.de]

Tracy writes:

"I couldn't agree more about the ITQIY. I have a thumbnail sized slice,
and consider myself fortunate. What an oddball crystalline structure."


Hello Tracy, Elton and List,

Same here ... small, thin, 0.5-gram slice of this unique, ungrouped, enstatite-rich,
metal-rich meteorite. There are several reasons why Tracy calls Itqiy an "oddball"
and here are just a few of these reasons:

1. Two pieces recovered after a detonation and the appearance of light
2. The larger piece shows delicate flowlines
3. Equigranular texture showing numerous triple junctions
4. Itqiy contains kamacite (low nickel) only and no taenite (high nickel)
5. Classified as an EH7-an, it also has features that belong to the EL-group (see no. 6 and 8)
6. Sulfides intermediate between typical E-chondrite niningerite and alabandite

Expl.: alabandite is typical of EL chondrites/ningerite is typical of EH chondrites
alabandite = (Mn,Fe)S - niningerite = (Mg,Fe)S

7. Chondrite with an achondritic texture (see: triple junctions)
8. Pyroxene chemically similar to enstatite in EL chondrites, but metal
closer in composition to that in EH chondrites.
9. Similar to Zaklodzie but different from Zaklodzie

Best regards,

Bernd