Eagle Station Pallasites (ESP)

Eagle Station Pallasites (ESP) Mineralogy: ESPs contain highly fragmented olivines, intermixed with small, irregular olivine splinters, in a nickel-iron matrix. The olivine is extraordinarily iron-rich, and the metal consists of higher nickel content than any other pallasites. As in the MGPs, accessories are present in the form of troilite, schreibersite, and chromite. Formation history & Origin: The elemental and oxygen isotopic compositions of ESP nickel-iron are similar to that of IIF irons, and both groups probably share a common parent body. Another very interesting isotopic link exists between the Eagle Station trio and the carbonaceous chondrites of the CO/CV clan. This data suggests that the IIF/Eagle Station parent body may have originated in the same nebular region in which the CV chondrite parent body formed – perhaps even inside of this very asteroid. Members: This small grouplet is named for a pallasite that was found near Eagle Station, Kentucky, in 1880, and it consists of just three members – Eagle Station, Cold Bay and Itzawisis.