Forsterite

Forsterite (Mg2SiO4; commonly abbreviated as Fo; also known as white olivine) is the magnesium-rich end-member of the olivine solid solution series. It is isomorphous with the iron-rich end-member, fayalite.

Forsterite associated with igneous and metamorphic rocks and also found in meteorites. In 2005 it also found in cometary dust returned by the Stardust probe. In 2011 it observed as tiny crystals in the dusty clouds of gas around a forming star.

Forsterite was first described in 1824 for an occurrence at Mount Somma, Vesuvius, Italy. It named by Armand Lévy in 1824 after the English naturalist and mineral collector Adolarius Jacob Forster.