Brownleeite
A valid IMA mineral species
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About Brownleeite
Donald E. Brownlee
Formula:
MnSi
Specific Gravity:
2.913 (Calculated)
Crystal System:
Isometric
Name:
Named in honor of Donald Eugene Brownlee (b. 21 December 1943), professor of astronomy at the University of Washington at Seattle and the principal investigator for NASA's Stardust mission. He founded the field of interplanetary dust particle (IDP) research. Among several honors, he was awarded the Leonard Medal from the Meteoritical Society, and Asteroid 3259 was renamed Brownlee. Dr Brownlee designed a particle collector that was mounted on a NASA aircraft and flown in the lower stratosphere for the purpose of sampling the dust stream of Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup in 2003. This mineral was among the particles collected and is the first new mineral found that is thought to have originated from a comet.
Type Locality:
The mineral was discovered within an interplanetary dust particle (or IDP) that is believed to have originated from comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup. Type material is in particles less than 1/10,000 of an inch across (or < 0.0025mm).
Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
36014
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:36014:8
IMA Classification of Brownleeite
Approved
Approval year:
2008
First published:
2010
Type description reference:
Nakamura-Messenger, K., Keller, L. P., Clemett, S. J., Messenger, S., Jones, J. H., Palma, R. L., Pepin, R. O., Klock, W., Zolensky, M. E., Tatsuoka, H. (2010) Brownleeite: A new manganese silicide mineral in an interplanetary dust particle. American Mineralogist, 95 (2) 221-228 doi:10.2138/am.2010.3263
Classification of Brownleeite
1.BB.
1 : ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)
B : Metallic Carbides, Silicides, Nitrides, Phosphides and Hydrides
B : Silicides
1 : ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)
B : Metallic Carbides, Silicides, Nitrides, Phosphides and Hydrides
B : Silicides
Mineral Symbols
As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.
| Symbol | Source | Reference for Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Bwn | IMA–CNMNC | Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43 |
Pronunciation of Brownleeite
Pronunciation:
| Play | Recorded by | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Jolyon Ralph | United Kingdom |
Physical Properties of Brownleeite
Density:
2.913 g/cm3 (Calculated)
Chemistry of Brownleeite
Mindat Formula:
MnSi
Elements listed:
Crystallography of Brownleeite
Crystal System:
Isometric
Class (H-M):
23 - Tetartoidal
Space Group:
P213
Cell Parameters:
a = 4.557 Å
Unit Cell V:
94.63 ų
Z:
4
Crystal Structure
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Data courtesy of the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database. Click on an AMCSD ID to view structure
| ID | Species | Reference | Link | Year | Locality | Pressure (GPa) | Temp (K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0015315 | Brownleeite | Jorgensen J E, Rasmussen S E (1991) Refinement of the structure of MnSi by powder diffraction Powder Diffraction 6 194-195 | 1991 | 0 | 293 | ||
| 0015314 | Brownleeite | Jorgensen J E, Rasmussen S E (1991) Refinement of the structure of MnSi by powder diffraction Powder Diffraction 6 194-195 | 1991 | 0 | 293 | ||
| 0015313 | Brownleeite | Jorgensen J E, Rasmussen S E (1991) Refinement of the structure of MnSi by powder diffraction Powder Diffraction 6 194-195 | 1991 | 0 | 293 | ||
| 0013254 | Brownleeite | Lebech B, Bernhard J, Freltoft T (1989) Magnetic structures of cubic FeGe studied by small-angle neutron scattering Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 1 6105-6122 | 1989 | 0 | 293 | ||
| 0015830 | Brownleeite | Boren B (1957) Roentgenuntersuchung der Legierungen von Silicium mit Chrom, Mangan, Kobalt und Nickel Zeitschrift fur Metallkunde 48 126-134 | 1957 | 0 | 293 | ||
| 0016971 | Brownleeite | Boren B (1934) Roentgenuntersuchung der Legierungen von Silicium mit Chrom, Mangan, Kobalt und Nickel _cod_database_code 1010035 Arkiv for Kemi, Mineralogi och Geologi A11 1-28 | 1934 | 0 | 293 |
CIF Raw Data - click here to close
X-Ray Powder Diffraction
Powder Diffraction Data:
| d-spacing | Intensity |
|---|---|
| 3.223 Å | (18) |
| 2.632 Å | (16) |
| 2.038 Å | (100) |
| 1.861 Å | (50) |
| 1.374 Å | (10) |
| 1.218 Å | (24) |
| 0.9946 Å | (12) |
| 0.8464 Å | (15) |
Reference:
Nakamura-Messenger, K., Keller, L. P., Clemett, S. J., Messenger, S., Jones, J. H., Palma, R. L., Pepin, R. O., Klock, W., Zolensky, M. E., Tatsuoka, H. (2010) Brownleeite: A new manganese silicide mineral in an interplanetary dust particle. American Mineralogist, 95 (2) 221-228 doi:10.2138/am.2010.3263
Geological Environment
Paragenetic Mode(s):
| Paragenetic Mode | Earliest Age (Ga) |
|---|---|
| Stage 1: Primary nebular phases | 4.567-4.561 |
| 3 : Solar nebular condensates (CAIs, AOAs, URIs) | >4.565 |
Type Occurrence of Brownleeite
General Appearance of Type Material:
Three submicrometer-sized grains, with maximum dimensions of 100, 250, and 600 nm.
Place of Conservation of Type Material:
n.d.
Geological Setting of Type Material:
Particle of cosmic dust collected by a high-altitude research aircraft. Likely formed as high-temperature condensates either in the early Solar System or in the outflow of an evolved star or
supernova explosion.
supernova explosion.
Associated Minerals at Type Locality:
Reference:
Nakamura-Messenger, K., Keller, L. P., Clemett, S. J., Messenger, S., Jones, J. H., Palma, R. L., Pepin, R. O., Klock, W., Zolensky, M. E., Tatsuoka, H. (2010) Brownleeite: A new manganese silicide mineral in an interplanetary dust particle. American Mineralogist, 95 (2) 221-228 doi:10.2138/am.2010.3263
Synonyms of Brownleeite
Other Language Names for Brownleeite
Dutch:Brownleeiet
German:Brownleeit
Common Associates
Associations Based on Photo Data:
| 1 photo of Brownleeite associated with 'Fayalite-Forsterite Series' |
Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping
| 1.BB. | Toledoite | TiFeSi |
| 1.BB. | Zangboite | TiFeSi2 |
| 1.BB. | Kangjinlaite | Ti11Si10 |
| 1.BB. | Yeite | TiSi |
| 1.BB.05 | Mavlyanovite | Mn5Si3 |
| 1.BB.05 | Suessite | Fe3Si |
| 1.BB.10 | 'UM2001-18-Si:CuPtSn' | (Cu,Pt)4Si |
| 1.BB.10 | Perryite | (Ni,Fe)5(Si,P)2 |
| 1.BB.15 | Naquite | FeSi |
| 1.BB.20 | Linzhiite | FeSi2 |
| 1.BB.25 | Luobusaite | Fe0.84Si2 |
| 1.BB.30 | Gupeiite | Fe3Si |
| 1.BB.35 | Hapkeite | Fe2Si |
| 1.BB.40 | Xifengite | Fe5Si3 |
| 1.BB.45 | Carletonmooreite | Ni3Si |
| 1.BB.55 | Palladosilicide | Pd2Si |
| 1.BB.65 | Zhiqinite | TiSi2 |
Other Information
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Internet Links for Brownleeite
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-36014.html
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References for Brownleeite
Reference List:
Jørgensen, Jens-Erik; Rasmussen, Svend Erik (1991) Refinement of the Structure of MnSi by Powder Diffraction. Powder Diffraction, 6 (4). 194-195 doi:10.1017/s0885715600017504
Brownlee, D. E., Flynn, G., Hörz, Friedrich, Keller, L., McKeegan, K., Sandford, S., Tsou, P., Zolensky, M. E. (2006) Comet Samples Returned by the Stardust Mission. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVII 2286.
Nakamura-Messenger, K., Keller, L. P., Clemett, S. J., Messenger, S., Jones, J. H., Palma, R. L., Pepin, R. O., Klock, W., Zolensky, M. E., Tatsuoka, H. (2010) Brownleeite: A new manganese silicide mineral in an interplanetary dust particle. American Mineralogist, 95 (2) 221-228 doi:10.2138/am.2010.3263
Localities for Brownleeite
Showing 1 localities.
ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence.
? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.
- Good crystals or important locality for species.
- World class for species or very significant.
(TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species.
(FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties).
Struck out - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality.
Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
- Good crystals or important locality for species.
- World class for species or very significant.
(TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species.
(FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
Outer Space (TL) | |
| Nakamura-Messenger et al. (2008) +2 other references |
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Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup, Outer Space