Why in news? Second aubrite meteorite found in India in 170 years at Gujarat

Highlights:

• Hundreds of meteorites have crashed in India, but this is only the second recorded crash of an aubrite. The last was in 1852 in Basti, Uttar Pradesh.
• Scientists are not yet sure of their origin, although some signs indicate they could be from the asteroid 3103 Eger or from the planet Mercury.
• They found that the fragments shared a crust indicated they were part of a common larger rock, called aubrite.
• It is also classified the meteorite as a monomict breccia since it consisted of several pyroxene-bearing pieces held together by a scaffold of rocky material.
• Around 90% of the meteorite was composed of orthopyroxene.
• Pyroxenes are used as gems and rocks with pyroxene have also been used to make crushed stone used in construction.

What are Aubrite ?

• Aubrites are “igneous rocks” that form in oxygen-poor conditions and contain a variety of exotic minerals that are not found on Earth.
• It is called as rare meteorite fall

What are meteorite ?

• Meteors are pieces of some solid object in space that broke away, descended onto a planet or moon. Once they reach the surface, they are called meteorites.
• The meteorite is a “rare, unique specimen” of aubrite