The Woodbine meteorite, with notes on silicates in iron meteorites

Abstract

The Woodbine meteorite, ploughed up in Illinois in 1953, is a fine octahedrite with numerous inclusions of silicate minerals. The minerals present include kamacite, taenite, troilite, schreibersite, orthopyroxene (Fs₆), diopside, olivine (Fa₄), plagioclase (An₉), and graphite. The chemical analysis is: Fe 73·06, Ni 9·08, Co 0·15, P 0·47, C 0·21, FeS 1·65, SiO₂ 8·55, TiO₂ 0·02, Al₂O₃ 0·53, Cr₂O₃ 0·03, FeO 0·49, MnO 0·03, MgO 5·19, CaO 0·34, Na₂O 0·29, K₂O 0·02, sum 100·11. Woodbine is compared with other meteorites of similar composition. The silicate material has chondritic composition, and is quite different from the silicate material of the mesosiderites, with which some of these meteorites have been classed.