Plessite is a meteorite texture consisting of a fine-grained mixture of the minerals

kamacite Kamacite is an alloy of iron and nickel, which is found on Earth only in meteorites. According to the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) it is considered a proper nickel-rich variety of the mineral native iron. The proportion iron:ni ...

and

taenite Taenite is a mineral found naturally on Earth mostly in iron meteorites. It is an alloy of iron and nickel, with a chemical formula of and nickel proportions of 20% up to 65%. The name is derived from the Greek ταινία for "band, ribbo ...

found in the

octahedrite Octahedrites are the most common Iron meteorite#Structural classification, structural class of iron meteorites. The structures occur because the meteoric iron has a certain nickel concentration that leads to the exsolution of kamacite out of tae ...

iron meteorite Iron meteorites, also called siderites or ferrous meteorites, are a type of meteorite that consist overwhelmingly of an iron–nickel alloy known as meteoric iron that usually consists of two mineral phases: kamacite and taenite. Most iron me ...

s. It occurs in gaps (its name is derived from the Greek "plythos" meaning "filling"according t
Mindat
a mineral database and mineralogical reference website) between the larger bands of kamacite and taenite which form Widmanstätten patterns. Many types of plessite exist and vary in formation mechanism and morphology. Some types of plessite as named by Buchwald's "Iron Meteorites" and Massalski's "Speculations about Plessite" are: *acicular or type I plessite *black or type II plessite *cellular or type III plessite *comb plessite *net plessite *pearlitic plessite *spheroidized plessite

References

*Goldstein, J. I. Michael, J. R., 2006, "The formation of plessite in meteoritic metal", Meteoritics & Planetary Science Vol 41; No. 4, pages 553-570
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See also

References