Demonstration of ^(26)Mg excess in Allende and evidence for ^(26)Al

Abstract

We report the discovery of a large anomaly in the isotopic composition of Mg in a Ca-Al rich chondrule from the Allende meteorite. This anomaly is manifest independently of instrumental fractionation and is due to an enrichment of about 1.3 percent in ^(26)Mg while the abundances of ^(25)Mg and ^(24)Mg are terrestrial in value. There is a strong correlation in this chondrule between the ^(26)Mg excess and the Al/Mg ratio so that the most plausible cause of the anomaly is the in situ decay of now extinct ^(26)Al (τ_½ = 0.72 × 10^6 yr). Mineral phases extracted from a Ca-Al-rich aggregate have distinct Al/Mg but show identical, small Mg anomalies which are apparent after correction for fractionation (δ^(26)Mg = 0.3%). These data indicate that this aggregate was isotopically homogenized in a high Al/Mg environment after the decay of ^(26)Al had occurred or that some of the Mg anomalies are due to effects other than in situ decay of ^(26)Al.