Majorite
Majorite is a high-pressure garnet formed from pyroxene in strongly shocked meteorites.
Majorite is a garnet made from the chemistry of pyroxene, created when pyroxene is subjected to extreme pressure. It was first described in 1970 from the Coorara L6 chondrite in Western Australia and named after Alan Major, who helped with the experimental work that predicted it.
Majorite forms in or near the melt veins of heavily shocked chondrites, where an impact briefly raised pressures to perhaps 15 to 25 gigapascals. Sometimes it crystallises from the shock melt itself, along with ringwoodite and other high-pressure minerals. It is also known as tiny inclusions in diamonds from Earth's deep mantle.
The composition and texture of majorite help researchers estimate the peak pressure and temperature of the impact that affected a meteorite's parent body. Majorite is identified with Raman spectroscopy or electron diffraction, because the grains are usually tiny and look similar to other minerals in an ordinary microscope.
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