The R chondrites differ from other chondrite groups in having a greater proportion of (iron-rich) olivine, a lower proportion of pyroxene, and virtually no iron-nickel metal – the iron being either oxidized or in the form of iron sulfides. The iron-rich olivines and iron oxides give most R chondrites a distinctive red coloration.
Rumurutiites contain fewer chondrules than do ordinary chondrites or enstatite chondrites, but they often contain xenolithic inclusions that point to a regolith origin on the surface of an asteroid. This ancestry is also indicated by the fact that most R group members contain high amounts of noble gases implanted in the rock by the solar wind.
Related category METEORS AND METEORITES
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