On the origin of enstatite chondrite chondrules based on their petrography and comparison with experimentally produced chondrules

Abstract

The recent discovery of several types 3 and 4 enstatite chondrites (EC) in the Antarctic collection increases greatly the ability to compare unaltered, naturally-formed EC chondrules with chondrules produced experimentally from melts of enstatitic chondrule composition. Because these discoveries are so recent we have undertaken the task of characterizing these chondrules for purposes of comparison. We have looked at several new Antarctic E3 chondrites and Qingzhen. They all have numerous chondrules with well defined outlines and readily identifiable textures. All have mostly porphyritic chondrules, but there are differences in the size and kinds of textures. Radial pyroxene, barred/dendritic px, and cryptocrystalline chondrules are present in differing amounts with one exception