Meteoritic Forsterite: A Window into the Early Solar System

Timothy Gregory, University of Bristol. Earth Surface Science Institute seminar.

Chondrites - meteorites that never experienced melting on their parent asteroids - contain the oldest solids in the Solar System. Comprising a diverse range of components, chondrites hold the clues to the processes taking place in the early Solar System, and the environments that existed during the formation of the planets and asteroids. In particular, they contain within them the chronology of the first few million years of Solar System history, giving us a unique insight into the very beginning of the rock record.