A type of stony meteorite that lacks chondrules, the small spherical structures found in most other meteorites.
From Greek 'a-' (without) + 'chondros' (grain or cartilage) + '-ite' (rock), coined by mineralogists to describe meteorites missing the characteristic rounded structures.
Achondrites are space rocks that didn't form through the normal planetary accretion process—they came from differentiated parent bodies like asteroids that had melted, making them incredibly valuable for understanding early solar system geology!
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