POLISHED DIOGENITE METEORITES - FROM 4 VESTA ASTEROID

Diogenits meteorites are a class of achondritic (stony) meteorites believed to originate from the inner crust of the asteroid or minor planet 4 Vesta. How many people know there is a minor planet called 4 Vesta in our solar system, let alone we have found meteorites on Earth which were once part of it? It is one of just seven bodies in the Solar System that humans have physical samples of.

Diogenites themselves are from a distinct part of Vesta: they come from the inner crust and are plutonic. They formed from intrusive igneous processes: in other words, diogenites were lava that cooled long enough to create crystals larger than what are found in howardites and eucrites, more commonly found on Vesta's surface. Thus, diogenites could indicate that Vesta was once part of a larger rocky planet with differentiated layers! They are named for the Greek philosopher Diogenes, who is one of the first individuals recorded to believe that meteorites came from space.