Generally, we group some objects or specimens that share some common properties like, they originated by the same process or from the same location or made up by similar kind of materials or they can be used for a particular purpose and so on. The ultimate goal of meteorite classification is to group them based on some properties like they share a common origin; from a single parent body - that could be an asteroid, planet or moon that help to differentiate a particular meteorite from others. Based on the textures and bulk compositions meteorites can be classified into two major groups, chondrites, and nonchondritic meteorites; nonchondritic meteorites include the primitive achondrites and some secondary meteorites which have already undergone by igneous processes. They are further classified into different groups using their chemistry, mineralogy and the relative textures of different minerals and isotopic properties (mainly oxygen) (Figure 1). The goal of the classification schemes is to provide descriptive labels for different classes of meteorites that could be derived from the same asteroid or planetary body and to reveal possible genetic links between various classes. Here we will try to know more about the existing meteorite classification, some classification parameters like their textures, basic mineralogy and geochemical properties of different meteorite groups; interested readers can find more information in Rietmeijer (1998), Burbine et al., (2002) and Krot et al., (2005).
The primary group members of chondritic meteorites are – Carbonaceous Chondrites, Ordinary Chondrites (OCs) and Enstatite Chondrites (E-type).
R (Rumuruti-like) and K (Kakangari-like) chondrite groups are different from other chondrites and have been suggested to represent additional chondrite classes. Reference
Photo Sources [1] Chondritic meteorite - meteoritesaustralia [2] Microscopy of Chondrule : Wisc-SIMS Laboratory - Department of Geoscience - University of Wisconsin-Madison
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