Wassonite
Encyclopedia
Wassonite is an extremely rare sulfide mineral
with chemical formula Ti
S
. Its discovery was announced in a 2011 NASA
press release as a single small grain within an enstatite chondrite
meteorite
called "Yamato 691
", which was found during a 1969 Japanese expedition to Antarctica. This grain represents the first observation in nature of the synthetic compound titanium(II) sulfide
.
The mineral was named after John T. Wasson, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles
and was approved by the International Mineralogical Association
.
Sulfide mineral
The sulfide minerals are a class of minerals containing sulfide as the major anion. Some sulfide minerals are economically important as metal ores. The sulfide class also includes the selenides, the tellurides, the arsenides, the antimonides, the bismuthinides, the sulfarsenides and the sulfosalts...
with chemical formula Ti
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
S
Sulfide
A sulfide is an anion of sulfur in its lowest oxidation state of 2-. Sulfide is also a slightly archaic term for thioethers, a common type of organosulfur compound that are well known for their bad odors.- Properties :...
. Its discovery was announced in a 2011 NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
press release as a single small grain within an enstatite chondrite
Enstatite chondrite
Enstatite chondrites are a rare form of meteorite thought to comprise only about 2% of the chondrites that fall on Earth. Only about 200 E-Type chondrites are currently known....
meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
called "Yamato 691
Yamato 691
The Yamato 691 is the 4.5 billion year old chondrite meteorite discovered by members of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition on the blue ice field of the Queen Fabiola Mountains in Antarctica, on December 21, 1969.-History:Yamato 691 was one among 9 meteorite specimens identified by the...
", which was found during a 1969 Japanese expedition to Antarctica. This grain represents the first observation in nature of the synthetic compound titanium(II) sulfide
Titanium(II) sulfide
Titanium sulfide is an inorganic chemical compound of titanium and sulfur.A meteorite, "Yamato 691", contains tiny flecks of this compound, making it a new mineral called Wassonite....
.
The mineral was named after John T. Wasson, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
and was approved by the International Mineralogical Association
International Mineralogical Association
The International Mineralogical Association is an international group of 38 national societies. The goal is to promote the science of mineralogy and to standardize the nomenclature of the 4000 plus known mineral species...
.