Which major compositional group is often cited as the rarest type encountered on Earth?
Answer
Stony-iron meteorites
Stony-iron meteorites are considered the rarest among the three major compositional families into which meteorites are broadly classified, standing between the silicate-rich stony group and the metal-rich iron group. This classification is based on the general makeup found across global meteorite finds. Stony meteorites are the most common group, being rich in silicates, while iron meteorites consist primarily of metallic iron and nickel. The stony-iron classification specifically denotes a material containing nearly equal proportions of both metallic and silicate material, a balance that occurs less frequently than the dominance of either component alone, thus securing its title as the rarest of the broad categories.
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