Definition of "pyroxene" [pyr•ox•ene]

• Any of a group of crystalline silicate minerals common in igneous and metamorphic rocks and containing two metallic oxides, as of magnesium, iron, calcium, sodium, or aluminum. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The presence in the meteorites of micrometer-sized crystals of a mineral called pyroxene indicates that these rocks formed at a relatively shallow depth, between 15 and 20 meters, says Day - additional evidence that the meteorites are fragments of an ancient asteroid crust."
• "The prevalence of dark minerals such as pyroxene and olivine cause basalt to have a dark gray to black color."
• ""Typically, dust debris around other stars, or our own Sun, is of the olivine, pyroxene, or silica variety, minerals commonly found on Earth," said Dr. Carl Melis, who led the research as a graduate student at UCLA."