Nuclear track records in the Abee enstatite chondrite

Abstract

Nuclear track records in fourteen samples taken from different locations of a cut-slab of the Abee enstatite chondrite were studied to determine its pre-atmospheric mass and to delineate its cosmic ray exposure history. The measured track densities in different samples range from 10⁴ to 10⁶ cm^-2. No significant variations in track densities for individual grains from a given location was found. Excess tracks of fissionogenic origin were found near the grain edges, and across cleavage planes in eight enstatite grains out of ~300 grains analysed in the present work. The compaction age of the meteorite could not be obtained due to the absence of suitable oldhamite-enstatite contacts in thick sections. The track data rule out pre-irradiation of any of the analysed samples with shielding less than a few tens of centimeter. The iso-track-density contours on the plane of the slab imply an asymmetric ablation of the Abee chondrite during its atmospheric transit. A spherical body having a radius of ~30 cm closely approximates the pre-atmospheric shape and size of the Abee meteorite. The mass loss during ablation was ~70% of the original mass.