The stardust inventories of CR chondrites QUE 99177 and MET 00426, and the distribution of presolar silicate and oxide grains in the early solar system.

Floss C. and Stadermann F. J. (2008)
Lunar & Planet. Sci. 39, Abstract #1280.


ABSTRACT

The CR chondrites are among the most primitive meteorites and have been compared with IDPs because both types of materials contain abundant H and N isotopic anomalies thought to be of interstellar origin. Circumstellar grains are also abundant in IDPs, but have only rarely been found in CR chondrites due to the extensive aqueous alteration they have experienced. However, QUE 99177 and MET 00426 appear to be significantly less altered than most members of this group and, thus, are good candidates in which to search for presolar grains. Indeed, we recently showed that QUE 99177 has very high concentrations of presolar grains, with O-anomalous grain abundances that exceed those of the primitive chondrites Acfer 094 and ALHA77307. Our continued investigation of these two CR chondrites shows that MET 00426 also contains high concentrations of both O-anomalous and C-anomalous presolar grains. Here we report results for the O-bearing presolar grains in these two meteorites and discuss implications for the distribution of presolar materials in the early solar system.


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