High Temperature Processing

Chondritic meteorites (chondrites), the oldest rocks in our solar system, provide a significant record of the processes that transformed a disk of gas and dust into a collection of planets, moons, asteroids, and comets. They are considered to be the building blocks of the inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Chondrites are aggregates of three major components: refractory Ca-Al-rich inclusions (CAIs), less refractory ferromagnesian silicate spherules called chondrules, and a fine-grained matrix. We know that CAIs and chondrules formed at nearly the same time as the Sun (4.56 billion years ago), but we don't know the details of how or where the CAIs and chondrules formed. The timing and duration of their formation remains obscure. M