Ellemeet meteorite, Schouwen-Duiveland, Zeeland, Netherlandsi

Regional Level Types
Ellemeet meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Schouwen-Duiveland	Municipality
Zeeland	Province
Netherlands	Country

Diogenite
Fell 28 Aug 1925, 1.47 kg


At least two stones fell, but only one 999 g stone has been preserved. Ellemeet is an ancient diogenite, a plutonic pyroxenite, with somewhat variable Mg-rich orthopyroxene (ave. ~Fa 72) accounting for ~90 vol% of its bulk. A number of minor phases have been reported, mostly silicates (olivine, clinopyroxene, silica) and a few opaques (chromite, troilite, and Fe-rich metal). The Fe-rich, Ni-poor metal is somewhat unusual for meteorites, but similar compositions are found in several diogenites. A chondritic clast – perhaps of CR-composition — is also reported.

Like most HED meteorites (Howardites-Eucrites-Diogenites), Ellemeet is most likely a fragment of the asteroid Vesta. However, a definitive assessment of individual meteorites to one specific asteroid parent body lies in the future. Discrepancies in either bulk oxygen-isotope ratios (using high-resolution laser fluoridation techniques) and/or pyroxene MgO-FeO ratios have made it clear that a few of the ancient HED rocks are almost certainly not derived from the same parent body as most HEDs. One item which makes Ellemeet a more likely derivative of Vesta is its ~1 billion year K-Ar age, which may be related to the ~1 billion years old Rheasilvia crater on Vesta. The event creating this large crater apparently excavated large amounts of Pyroxene-rich material from the Vestal 'mantle.' Another suggestive item is a cosmic ray exposure age (~20 million years) similar to the ages of several HED meteorites. These ages could mark the simultaneous impact-induced launch of small meteoroids (asteroidal fragments) into an Earth-crossing orbit!?

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References