Kakangari chondrite

The Kakangari Chondrites (K-Chondrites for short) are an extremely rare group of meteorites named after the fall of Kakangari (India). Their degree of oxidation lies between that of the H-chondrites and that of the enstatite-chondrites . They differ from the other chondrite classes with regard to the oxygen isotope signature and the petrological characteristics . So far only four K-chondrites are known (as of January 2019):

• Kakangari (K3) Case: 1890, Tamil Nadu, India; Total mass: 347 grams
• Lea County 002 (K3) Find: 1988, New Mexico, USA; Total mass: 11 grams
• Lewis Cliff 87232 (K3) Find: 1987, Antarctica; Total mass: 23 grams
• Northwest Africa 10085 (K4) Discovery: 2013, Northwest Africa; Total mass: 52 grams

This makes the Kakangari chondrites one of the rarest meteorite classes. With the exception of Northwest Africa 10085, which was classified petrologically as type 4, all are unequilibrated (petrological: type 3) and have the following features, among others:

• High matrix content (33-77% by volume)
• Metal frequency similar to that of H-chondrites (6–10 vol .-%) (see common chondrites )
• Relatively low iron content in olivine and pyroxenes (lower than in H chondrites, but higher than in enstatite chondrites ).

literature

• Michael K. Weisberg et al: The K (Kakangari) chondrite grouplet . In: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta . Vol. 60, No. 21, 1996, pp. 4253-4263.
• JA Utas, AE Rubin, and K. Ziegler: Northwest Africa 10085: An Equilibrated Kakangari Chondrite . In: 48th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference XLVIII (2017) , held 20-24 March 2017, at The Woodlands, Texas. LPI Contribution No. 1964, id. 2906.