Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Synthesis and Microdiffraction at Extreme Pressures and Temperatures
Published on: October 7, 2013
Oxygen isotope variation in stony-iron meteorites
R C Greenwood1, I A Franchi, A Jambon
1Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute, Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA UK. r.c.greenwood@open.ac.uk
Abstract:
Asteroidal material, delivered to Earth as meteorites, preserves a record of the earliest stages of planetary formation. High-precision oxygen isotope analyses for the two major groups of stony-iron meteorites (main-group pallasites and mesosiderites) demonstrate that each group is from a distinct asteroidal source. Mesosiderites are isotopically identical to the howardite-eucrite-diogenite clan and, like them, are probably derived from the asteroid 4 Vesta. Main-group pallasites represent intermixed core-mantle material from a single disrupted asteroid and have no known equivalents among the basaltic meteorites. The stony-iron meteorites demonstrate that intense asteroidal deformation accompanied planetary accretion in the early Solar System.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Redox Reactions
Oxidation Numbers
Alkali Metals
Table 1: Properties of the alkali metals
Properties of Transition Metals
Ionic Strength: Effects on Chemical Equilibria
In this solution, the primary cation—the calcium...
Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Non-Stoichiometric Defects

