THE HEDJAZ METEORITE

The Hedjaz meteorite has been studied in detail and on a chemical basis, with 22.1% total Fe, 9% metallic Fe, 1.3% Ni and constant olivine composition (Fa23–24), can be classified as an L‐group chondrite. However, petrographically Hedjaz is quite hoterogeneous and contains features characteristic of types 3, 4, 5, and 6, observations that refute a petrographic type classification. Indeed, Hedjaz, as a complex breccia, exhibits no evidence of metamorphic equilibration after accretion and supports the contention that type 4 (also 5 and 6) chondrites are not derivatives of type 3 material, and that types 5 and 6 are not necessarily more “metamorphosed,” only better crystallized.