Brownleeite
A manganese silicide discovered in dust from comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup collected by NASA's Stardust mission.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Brownleeite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the native element class, with the chemical formula MnSi.
It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system (space group P2_13). It is a member of the Brownleeite structural group.
Key properties: specific gravity 2.913.
IMA symbol Bwn, IMA status: approved, named in 2008.
Within an interplanetary dust particle, (IDP), that likely originated from a comet; likely formed as high-temperature condensates either in the early Solar System or in the outflow of an evolved star or supernova explosion.
It is found associated with Mn-bearing forsterite, enstatite, FeNi sulfides, glass with embedded metal and sulfide grains.
The mineral was named to honor Donald E. Brownlee (b. 1943).