What substance characterizes Stony meteorites, placing them in the most common group?
Answer
Rich in silicates
Stony meteorites constitute the most voluminous group among the three major compositional families of meteorites found globally. Their defining characteristic is that they are rich in silicate minerals, which form the bulk of their mass. This places them at one end of the compositional scale when contrasted with iron meteorites, which are defined by their high metal content. Because they are found with much greater frequency than iron or stony-iron varieties, they form the baseline against which the rarity of other specific subclasses, such as aubrites or carbonaceous chondrites, is measured.
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