Editing Chondrite (section)

== Characteristics ==

Prominent among the components present in chondrites are the enigmatic [[chondrule]]s, millimetre-sized spherical objects that originated as freely floating, molten or partially molten droplets in space; most chondrules are rich in the [[silicate]] minerals [[olivine]] and [[pyroxene]].

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| image1            = NWA Chondrite.jpg
| image2            = 10499 - Detailed Slice.png
| caption1          = Shiny Ni/Fe metal is prominently displayed in this ordinary chondrite found in Northwest Africa
| caption2         = Chondrule in Chondrite from [[NWA 10499]] LL3 Primitive Chondrite<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?code=62675 |title=NWA 10499; Meteoritical Bulletin Database. The Meteoritical Society |access-date=20 April 2024|archive-date=21 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121060911/https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?code=62675|url-status=live }}</ref>
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Chondrites also contain [[refractory]] inclusions (including [[calcium–aluminium-rich inclusion|Ca–Al inclusions]]), which are among the oldest objects to form in the Solar System, particles rich in metallic Fe-Ni and [[Sulfide mineral|sulfides]], and isolated grains of [[silicate minerals]]. The remainder of chondrites consists of fine-grained (micrometre-sized or smaller) dust, which may either be present as the [[matrix (geology)|matrix]] of the rock or may form rims or mantles around individual chondrules and refractory inclusions. Embedded in this dust are [[presolar grains]], which predate the formation of the Solar System and originated elsewhere in the galaxy. The chondrules have distinct texture, composition and [[mineralogy]], and their origin continues to be the object of some debate.<ref name="lunar">{{cite journal |author1=Múñoz-Espadas, M.J. |author2=Martínez-Frías, J. |author3=Lunar, R. |title=Mineralogía, texturas y cosmoquímica de cóndrulos RP y PO en la condrita Reliegos L5 (León, España)| year=2003| journal=[[Geogaceta]]| volume=34| issn=0213-683X| pages=35–38| language=es}}</ref> The scientific community generally accepts that these spheres were formed by the action of a [[Shock waves in astrophysics|shock wave]] that passed through the Solar System, although there is little agreement as to the cause of this shock wave.<ref name="jup">{{cite web |orig-year=6 March 2005 |translator=Sara Benedicta Oyola|date=2005-03-18 |url=http://astrobiologia.astroseti.org/astrobio/articulo_2128_cocino_jupiter_los_meteoritos.htm |archive-url= https://archive.today/20070419221605/http://astrobiologia.astroseti.org/astrobio/articulo_2128_cocino_jupiter_los_meteoritos.htm |url-status=dead|archive-date=19 April 2007 |title=¿Cocinó Júpiter a los meteoritos?|access-date=18 April 2009|work=Astrobiology Magazine|language=es}}</ref>

An article published in 2005 proposed that the gravitational instability of the gaseous disk that formed [[Jupiter (planet)|Jupiter]] generated a shock wave with a velocity of more than 10&nbsp;km/s, which resulted in the formation of the chondrules.<ref name="Boss">{{cite journal |author1=Boss, A.P. |author2=Durisen, R.H.| title=Chondrule-forming Shock Fronts in the Solar Nebula: A Possible Unified Scenario for Planet and Chondrite Formation| year=2005| journal=[[The Astrophysical Journal]]| volume=621| pages=L137–L140| issue=2 |doi=10.1086/429160| bibcode=2005ApJ...621L.137B| arxiv=astro-ph/0501592 |s2cid=15244154}}</ref>