Two spinel-bearing compound chondrules from the Baszkówka meteorite

Abstract

The present paper describes two compound chondrules labelled panda and chevron, discovered in the Baszkówka meteorite. Optical microscope, electron microscope and electron microprobe studies revealed an unusual mineral composition and fabric. Both chondrules include “primary” and “secondary” components. The panda and chevron chondrules have apparent diameters of ~0.86 and ~0.54 mm respectively with spinel dominant in primary components and olivine-plagioclase in secondary components overlain by thin microcrystalline rims. Euhedral or subhedral Mg, Fe2+/Al, Cr-spinel crystals from the panda’s primary component (zoned, cavernous or homogeneous) were not found in Mg-Fe chondrules in Baszkówka, where Cr occurs exclusively as chromite. Olivine crystals from panda’s primary (Fa27.1) and secondary (Fa26.5) component have similar compositions to those from panda’s rim (Fa26.4) and comparable to olivine from other Baszkówka Mg-Fe chondrules (average ~Fa25.7). The Ca-plagioclase laths from the groundmass of panda’s primary component has an extremely variable composition (~An49 to ~An60), evidently more calcic than those in other chondrules of the meteorite (mean ~An13).  The primary components of the two spinel-bearing chondrules may have been formed in a fireball generated by powerful impact during early accretion of a protoplanet. After crystallisation the spinel crystals were abraded and polished, probably during rapid flight through a dense cloud of interplanetary dust. The moderately reducing conditions of the hypothetical fire ball were replaced by a more reducing environment during the condensation of the rims of both chondrules.