* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Lafayette meteorite

Blobrana · L

Meteorite may explain 'how Mars turned to stone'

A meteorite reveals clues to how Mars lost its thick, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere and became a cold, rocky desert, researchers say.
They say the Lafayette meteorite shows signs of carbonation - where minerals absorb CO2 in a reaction with water.
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Blobrana · L

The exact location of where the Lafayette meteorite fell is not known. The meteorite sat unrecognized in the geological collections in Purdue University for an unknown number of years until it was recognized by O. Farrington in 1931
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Blobrana · L

The Lafayette meteorite has an unknown provenance. It was rediscovered in 1931 in Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana, USA. Lafayette is a single oriented 800 gram stone with a fusion crust showing well-developed flow features. Isotopic techniques have produced ages of 1.33 Ga (Ar-Ar) and 1.32 Ga (Sm-Nd). Lafayette landed on Earth 3,000-4,000 years ago.
The mineral assemblage is dominated by clinopyroxene (augite) with olivine, orthopyroxene and plagioclase feldspar occurring in lower abundances. Minor species include K-feldspar, chlorapatite, titaniferous magnetite and the sulphides chalcopyrite and marcasite.
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