Meteorites are fascinating cosmic visitors. Using accessible language,
this book documents the history of mineralogy and meteorite research,
summarizes the mineralogical characteristics of the myriad varieties of
meteorites, and explains the mineralogical characteristics of Solar
System bodies visited by spacecraft. Some of these bodies contain
minerals that do not occur naturally on Earth or in meteorites. The book
explains how to recognize different phases under the microscope and in
back-scattered electron images. It summarizes the major ways in which
meteoritic minerals form - from condensation in the expanding
atmospheres of dying stars to crystallization in deep-seated magmas,
from flash-melting in the solar nebula to weathering in the terrestrial
environment. Containing spectacular back-scattered electron images,
colour photographs of meteorite minerals, and with an accompanying
online list of meteorite minerals, this book provides a useful resource
for meteorite researchers, terrestrial mineralogists, cosmochemists and
planetary scientists, as well as graduate students in these fields