Florenskyite
An iron titanium phosphide found in the extraordinary mixed meteorite Kaidun.
Key facts
- Formula
- FeTiP
- Family
- Phosphides, carbides, nitrides and silicides
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- First described
- the Kaidun meteorite, 2000
Florenskyite was described in 2000 from the Kaidun meteorite, which fell in Yemen in 1980. It is named after Kirill Florensky, a Russian planetary scientist. It is known only from meteorites.
What it is
Florenskyite is a phosphide of iron and titanium. Titanium bonded to phosphorus rather than oxygen shows formation in an extremely reducing setting.
Where it is found
It occurs in a clast within Kaidun, a breccia that contains fragments of many different meteorite types, including carbonaceous and enstatite chondrites.
How it is recognised
It is microscopic and identified by microprobe analysis and electron diffraction.
Did you know?
Kaidun fell on a Soviet military base in Yemen in December 1980.
Kaidun contains so many kinds of fragments that some scientists suspect it came from a moon of Mars.