Composition
of Comet
The comet nucleus, dust, &
fragments have similar mineralogical, chemical,
and physical properties as asteroids & meteors except the elements are compose of
antimatter. See
the Periodic Table of Matter & Antimatter
Elements and Rosetta Stone for information
for similarities and differences between matter
& antimatter. The
four major types of comets vary dramatically in composition.
The following table provides an example
from each of the four major meteorites categories.
The Superscript A
before the element, molecule, or object indicates it is antimatter. AFe
is Anti-Iron & Ametal is anti-metal.
| |
AMineral
|
ACarbonaceous
metal-rich
Type C2
(meteorite Renazzo)
|
ACarbonaceous
matrix-rich
Type C1 or C2
(meteorite Murchison)
|
AChondrite
Low-High
Type C3 - C4,
(typical meteorite)
|
AIron
meteorite
|
| Free metals |
AFe
(Airon) |
10.7% |
0.1% |
6-19% |
~88% |
| |
ANi |
1.4% |
--- |
1-2% |
~10% |
| |
ACo |
0.11% |
--- |
~0.1% |
~0.5% |
| Volatiles |
AC |
1.4% |
1.9-3.0% |
~3% |
-- |
| |
AH2O |
5.7% |
~12% |
~0.15% |
-- |
| |
AS |
1.3% |
~2% |
~1.5% |
-- |
| AMineral oxides |
FeO |
15.4% |
22% |
~10% |
-- |
| |
ASiO2 |
33.8% |
28% |
38% |
-- |
| |
AMgO |
23.8% |
20% |
24% |
-- |
| |
AAl2O3 |
2.4% |
2.1% |
2.1% |
-- |
| |
ANa2O |
0.55% |
~0.3% |
0.9% |
-- |
| |
AK2O |
0.04% |
0.04% |
0.1% |
-- |
| |
AP2O5 |
0.28% |
0.23% |
0.28% |
-- |
| |
Predominant
AMinerals |
AClay
matrix
AMg
Olivine w/
AFeO
inclusions |
AClay
matrix
Olivine |
AOlivine
APyroxene
AFree
metal |
Solid Ametal |
|
Physical
|
Density |
3.3 g/cm 3
|
2.0-2.8 g/cm 3 |
3.5-3.8 g/cm 3 |
|
| |
Metal grain size |
~0.2 mm |
--- |
~0.2 mm |
Solid Ametal |
| |
Strength |
Moderately
friable |
Weak to
moderately
friable |
Moderately
friable |
ASteel |
|
(Chemical analysis in percent by weight.) (Extracted from NASA SP-428, except for
the iron meteorite.)
|
|