brownleeite
{{Short description|Silicide mineral}}
{{Infobox mineral
| name = Brownleeite
| category = Native element class, Fersilicite group
| boxwidth =
| boxbgcolor =
| image =
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| formula = MnSi
| molweight =
| strunz = 1.XX.00
| dana = 01.01.23.07
| system = Isometric
| class = Tetartoidal (23)
H-M symbol: (23)
| symmetry = P213
| color =
| colour =
| habit = Cubic grain in microscopic dust particle (< 2.5 μm)
| references = http://webmineral.com/data/Brownleeite.shtml Webmineral datahttp://www.mindat.org/min-36014.html Mindat.org
}}
Brownleeite is a silicide mineral with chemical formula MnSi. It was discovered by researchers of the Johnson Space Center in Houston while analyzing the Pi Puppid particle shower of the comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup. The only other known natural manganese silicide is mavlyanovite, Mn5Si3.Mindat, http://www.mindat.org/min-38826.html
Overview
The particles were collected from the stratosphere over south-western US in April 2003 using an ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft of NASA. The team of researchers from US, Germany and Japan was led by NASA scientist Keiko Nakamura-Messenger.{{Cite web |url=http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleID=42455 |title=University of Washington News of Juni 12, 2008 |access-date=2008-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708124515/http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleID=42455 |archive-date=2008-07-08 |url-status=dead }}[http://newswise.com/articles/view/541724/ Newswise: Like a Rock: New Mineral Named for Astronomer] Retrieved on June 15, 2008
To determine the mineral's origin and examine other dust materials, a new transmission electron microscope was installed in 2005 at Johnson Space Center.[http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/jun/HQ_08143_comet_dust.html NASA News Releases June 12, 2008: NASA Finds New Type of Comet Dust Mineral]
The mineral name was approved by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA Number 2008-011).[http://www.geo.vu.nl/users/ima-cnmmn/minerals08-06.pdf Minerals approved by the IMA-CNMNC in June 2008]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The NASA scientists named the mineral after Donald E. Brownlee, professor of astronomy at the University of Washington, Seattle, because of his pioneering research on interplanetary dust particles. [http://www.universetoday.com/2008/06/12/alien-mineral-from-comet-dust-found-in-earths-atmosphere/ Universe Today June 12, 2008: Alien Mineral From Comet Dust Found in Earth's Atmosphere]
See also
References
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External links
- {{cite web | url = http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/CosmoSparks/Sept10/brownleeite.html | title = Brownleeite: The First New Mineral Identified From a Comet | publisher = Planetary Science Research Discoveries}}
{{Manganese minerals}}
Category:Manganese(IV) minerals
Category:Native element minerals