Olivine aggregate inclusions. Olivine aggregate inclusions are one of the most volumetrically important inclusion types in some carbonaceous chondrites. Unlike chondrules, which show clear evidence for having been melted, olivine aggregate inclusions appear to have formed by the aggregation of individual, tiny olivine grains and other material. These inclusions may have been a fundamental building block out of which much of the rocky material in the solar system was originally constructed. Chondrule glasses and melt inclusions.
Chondrules are spherical glassy objects and are the main components of ordinary chondrites.
Recent studies have focused on the separation of highly refractory microscopic grains from the much more abundant carbonaceous matrix in primitive meteorites. A remarkable isotropic composition diversity was found in a small fraction of single grains from the same meteorite, implying multiple stellar sources. Studies of noble gases in SiC, graphite, diamonds, individual olivine grains, ilmenite grains and phosphate grains have led to unique grain-specific isotope data. YAG laser beam is used to vaporize selected individual grains. The gases liberated can be purified by exposure to various getters, but the ionization specificity of the lasers may permit release of the gas directly into the system for simultaneous Kr and Xe analysis.