Ureilite

Ureilite
— Group —
NWA 4231, an example of an ureilite meteorite
Compositional type	Stony
Type	Achondrite
Class	Primitive achondrite
Subgroups	monomict polymict
Parent body	Unknown (F-type?)
Composition	Olivine-pigeonite

Ureilite is a rare type of stony meteorite that has a unique mineralogical composition very different from that of other stony meteorites. This dark grey or brownish meteorite type is named after the village Novy Urey (Cyrillic: Новый Урей), Mordovia Republic of Russia, where a meteorite of this type fell on 4 September 1886. Notable ureilites are the Novo Urei and the Goalpara, also named for the town in which it landed (Goalpara, Assam India). On 7 October 2008, tiny asteroid 2008 TC₃ entered Earth's atmosphere and exploded an estimated 37 kilometres (23 mi) above the Nubian Desert in Sudan. Fragments of this asteroid were recovered the following December and were found to be ureilite. Scientists have discovered amino acids in meteorite 2008 TC₃ where none were expected, taking into account high temperatures reached in the explosion of about 1000 °C.^[1]