Titanium carbide and titania phases on Antarctic ice particles of probable extraterrrestrial originTwo unique titania-rich particles, found within ancient Antarctic ice have been discovered and characterized, and are believed to be of extraterrestrial origin. Both particles contain abundant submicron-sized crystals of Magneli phases (Ti(n)O(2n-1). In addition, one particle contains a core of TiC. Whereas the Magneli phases would have been stable in the early solar nebula, and so probably formed there, the TiC is more likely to have condensed in the cool, dusty, carbon-rich outer shell of a red giant star. It is suggested that both particles are interplanetary dust particles whose Magneli phases carry a record of the PO2-T conditions of the early solar nebula. It is further suggested that the TiC grain in particle 705 is remnant interstellar dust.
Document ID
19890049159
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Zolensky, M. E. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Pun, A. (San Francisco State University CA, United States)
Thomas, K. L. (Lockheed Engineering and Management Services Co., Inc. Houston, TX, United States)