Why Is Dhofar 302 Probably Not Paired With Dhofar
303, 305,
489
and the Other Meteorites Found With It?
The plots below show why we believe Dhofar 302 is unlikely
to be related to Dhofar 303, 305, 489, et al. We obtained
2 small samples of Dhofar
302, those depicted in the top (T) and bottom (B) photos here.
We made 3 subsamples of the B sample and 2 subsamples of the
T sample. The two samples differ somewhat in composition -
the B sample is richer in iron (FeO) and scandium (Sc)
than the T
sample. However both samples have concentrations of incompatible
elements like samarium (Sm) and thorium (Th) that are several
times those of any of the numerous subsamples we have analyzed
of Dhofar 303, 305, etc. This difference does not constitute
proof that Dhofar 302 is unpaired with Dhofar 303, but it requires
a special circumstance - Dhofar 302 was an unusual clast
in Dhofar 303 et al. that got separated after the fall. Although
improbable, this type of special circumstance is apparently
what happened with the Kalahari lunar
meteorite stones.
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