A petrographic, chemical, and isotopic study of calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions and aluminum-rich chondrules from the Axtell (CV3) chondrite

Petrographic, compositional, and isotopic characteristics were studied for three calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) and four plagioclase-bearing chondrules (three of them Al-rich) from the Axtell (CV3) chondrite. All seven objects have analogues in Allende (CV3) and other primitive chondrites, yet Axtell, like most other chondrites, contains a distinctive suite of CAIs and chondrules. In common with Allende CAIs, CAIs in Axtell exhibit initial ^(26)Al/^(27)Al ratios ((^(26)Al/^(27)Al)0) ranging from ∼5 × 10^(−5) to 2 Ma after the first CAIs. As in other CV3 chondrites, some objects in Axtell show evidence of isotopic disturbance. Axtell has experienced only mild thermal metamorphism (