Krotite
Calcium dialuminate — the low-pressure dimorph of CaAl₂O₄, first found in a meteorite inclusion.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Krotite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the oxides & hydroxide class, with the chemical formula CaAl₂O₄.
It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system (space group P2_1/n). It is a member of the Beryllonite structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 6.5; specific gravity 2.944; White streak; Vitreous luster; optically biaxial.
IMA symbol Kro, IMA status: approved, named in 2010.
Likely formed by condensation or crystallization from a melt in the solar nebula, now a Ca-Al-rich refractory inclusion in a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite. One of the earliest minerals formed in the solar system.
It is found associated with Perovskite, gehlenite, hercynite, Cl-bearing mayenite, hexamolybdenum.
The mineral was named to honor Alexander N. Krot (b. 1959), a cosmochemist, University of Hawaii, USA, for his contributions to the understanding of early Solar System processes.