Brownleeite

---

title: "Brownleeite" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["manganese(iv)-minerals", "native-element-minerals", "cubic-minerals", "minerals-in-space-group-198", "minerals-described-in-2010"] description: "Silicide mineral" topic_path: "general/manganese-iv-minerals" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownleeite" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Silicide mineral ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mineral"]

Field	Value
name	Brownleeite
category	Native element class, Fersilicite group
formula	MnSi
IMAsymbol	Bwn
strunz	1.XX.00
dana	01.01.23.07
system	Isometric
class	Tetartoidal (23)
H-M symbol: (23)
symmetry	P213
habit	Cubic grain in microscopic dust particle (
references
::

| name = Brownleeite | category = Native element class, Fersilicite group | boxwidth = | boxbgcolor = | image = | imagesize = | alt = | caption = | formula = MnSi | IMAsymbol=Bwn | molweight = | strunz = 1.XX.00 | dana = 01.01.23.07 | system = Isometric | class = Tetartoidal (23) H-M symbol: (23) | symmetry = P213 | color = | colour = | habit = Cubic grain in microscopic dust particle ( | references = Brownleeite is a silicide mineral with chemical formula MnSi. It was discovered by researchers of the Johnson Space Center in Houston while analyzing the Pi Puppid particle shower of the comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup. The only other known natural manganese silicide is mavlyanovite, Mn5Si3.

Overview

The particles were collected from the stratosphere over south-western US in April 2003 using an ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft of NASA. The team of researchers from US, Germany and Japan was led by NASA scientist Keiko Nakamura-Messenger.

To determine the mineral's origin and examine other dust materials, a new transmission electron microscope was installed in 2005 at Johnson Space Center.

The mineral name was approved by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA Number 2008-011). The NASA scientists named the mineral after Donald E. Brownlee, professor of astronomy at the University of Washington, Seattle, because of his pioneering research on interplanetary dust particles.

References

References

1. Warr, L.N.. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine.
2. http://webmineral.com/data/Brownleeite.shtml Webmineral data
3. http://www.mindat.org/min-36014.html Mindat.org
4. Mindat, http://www.mindat.org/min-38826.html
5. "University of Washington News of Juni 12, 2008".
6. [http://newswise.com/articles/view/541724/ Newswise: Like a Rock: New Mineral Named for Astronomer] Retrieved on June 15, 2008
7. [http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/jun/HQ_08143_comet_dust.html NASA News Releases June 12, 2008: NASA Finds New Type of Comet Dust Mineral]
8. [http://www.geo.vu.nl/users/ima-cnmmn/minerals08-06.pdf Minerals approved by the IMA-CNMNC in June 2008]{{dead link. (November 2016)
9. [http://www.universetoday.com/2008/06/12/alien-mineral-from-comet-dust-found-in-earths-atmosphere/ Universe Today June 12, 2008: Alien Mineral From Comet Dust Found in Earth's Atmosphere]

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::