Brianite - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Brianite is a phosphate

Phosphate

A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...

mineral

Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...

with the chemical formula Na₂CaMg(PO₄)₂. It was first identified in an iron meteorite

Iron meteorite

Iron meteorites are meteorites that consist overwhelmingly of nickel-iron alloys. The metal taken from these meteorites is known as meteoric iron and was one of the earliest sources of usable iron available to humans.-Occurrence:...

. This mineral

Mineral

is named after Brian Harold Mason

Brian Harold Mason

Brian Harold Mason was a New Zealand born geochemist and mineralogist who was one of the pioneers in the study of meteorites.Mason has played a leading part in understanding the nature of the solar system through his studies of meteorites and lunar rocks.Mason has also examined and classified...

, a pioneer in meteoritics

Meteoritics

Meteoritics is a science that deals with meteorites and other extraterrestrial materials that further our understanding of the origin and history of the solar system. A specialist who studies meteoritics is known as a meteoriticist....

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