[4][5] The hitherto unknown meteorite mineral was named for the ancient Chinese god Pan Gu, the creator of the world through the separation of yin (earth) from yang (sky).
The elements found in it are titanium, scandium, aluminium, magnesium, zirconium, calcium, and oxygen.
[6] Panguite is in a class of refractory minerals that formed under the high temperatures and extremely varied pressures present in the early Solar System, up to 4.5 billion years ago.
Zirconium is a key element in determining conditions prior to and during the Solar System's formation.
Chi Ma, director of the Geological and Planetary Sciences division's Analytical Facility at the California Institute of Technology was the lead author of its first peer-reviewed article, published in American Mineralogist.