Addibischoffite
An aluminium-rich calcium aluminate from a primitive inclusion in a CH chondrite.
Key facts
- Formula
- Ca2Al6Al6O20
- Family
- Oxides
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- First described
- the CH chondrite Acfer 214, 2015
Addibischoffite was approved as a new mineral in 2015 from a calcium-aluminium-rich inclusion in Acfer 214, a CH chondrite found in Algeria, and described in 2017. It is named after Addi Bischoff, a German meteorite scientist.
What it is
Addibischoffite is the aluminium-rich member of the rhönite-type oxides that also include warkite and beckettite. It is a refractory mineral, expected to condense from hot gas of solar composition at very high temperature.
Where it is found
It occurs as tiny crystals with hibonite, grossite and other calcium aluminates in an inclusion in Acfer 214, a metal-rich CH chondrite from the Sahara.
How it is recognised
It is identified by its composition and by electron backscatter diffraction in a scanning electron microscope.
Did you know?
CH chondrites are named for their high metal content: the H stands for high iron.
Acfer 214 is named after a region of the Algerian Sahara where many meteorites have been found.