Description
FORSTERITE SPECIMEN
This is the polished on the one side forsterite specimen with black spinel and calcite. Dimensions: 2.3 x 1.4 x 0.8″ (5.9 x 3.5 x 2cm). Weight – 1.9oz (53 grams). Origin: Russia, Siberia.
Some information about 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 is associated with igneous and metamorphic rocks and has also been found in meteorites. In 2005 it was also found in cometary dust returned by the Stardust probe. In 2011 it was 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 was named by Armand Lévy in 1824 after the English naturalist and mineral collector Adolarius Jacob Forster.
