Achondrite

Achondrite
— Type —
Cumberland Falls, achondrite (aubrite)
Compositional type	Stony
An eucrite achondrite from the Millbillillie meteorite shower.

An achondrite is a stony meteorite that does not contain chondrules. It consists of material similar to terrestrial basalts or plutonic rocks and has been differentiated and reprocessed to a lesser or greater degree due to melting and recrystallization on or within meteorite parent bodies. As a result, achondrites have distinct textures and mineralogies indicative of igneous processes.

Achondrites account for about 8% of meteorites overall, and the majority (about two thirds) of them are HED meteorites, possibly originating from the crust of asteroid 4 Vesta. Other types include Martian, Lunar, and several types thought to originate from as-yet unidentified asteroids. These groups have been determined on the basis of e.g. the Fe/Mn chemical ratio and the ¹⁷O/¹⁸O oxygen isotope ratios, thought to be characteristic "fingerprints" for each parent body.

Achondrites are classified into the following groups:

Primitive achondrites, also called PAC group, are called in this way because their chemical composition is primitive in the sense that it is similar to the composition of chondrites, but their texture is igneous, indicative of melting processes. To this group belong:

Asteroidal achondrites, also called evolved achondrites, are called in this way because have been differentiated on a parent body. This means that their mineralogical and chemical composition was changed by melting and crytallization processes. They are divided several groups:

Lunar meteorites are meteorites that originated from the Moon.

Martian meteorites are meteorites that originated from Mars. They are divided into three main groups, with two exceptions (see last two entries):