anorthosite
- noun
- /əˈnɔrθəˌsaɪt/
- Specialized
:
anortosita
- Spectra show that much of Mercury's surface is probably composed of anorthosite (volcanic igneous rock) similar to the lunar highlands.
- anorthosite rock
- made of anorthosite
Examples
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Anorthosite, a rock made up primarily of the mineral plagioclase feldspar, is the main constituent of the highlands.
Academic text (2003) -
The finding confirmed a central tenet of the magma-ocean hypothesis: the original crust of the Moon was anorthosite rock formed out of plagioclase feldspar floating in a dense global magma.
Academic text (2003) -
Anorthosite rocks were found in abundance in 1972 at the Apollo 16 landing site in the lunar highlands.
Academic text (2003) -
The probe showed that the anorthosite is nearly pure and virtually the same over the entire Moon.
-
The anorthosite rocks were found in abundance in 1972 at the Apollo 16 landing site in the lunar highlands.
-
The anorthosite, a rock made up primarily of the mineral plagioclase feldspar, is the main constituent of the highlands.
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word anorthosite comes from Greek parts an- 'not' and orthos 'straight', plus -ite 'rock', and orthos is the same root in orthodox. So think of anorthosite as a rock made mostly of an unusual kind of feldspar, which is why the name points to this specific type of rock.
