Almahata Sitta (AhS), an anomalous polymict ureilite, is the first meteorite observed to originate from a spectrally classified asteroid (2008
Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) are excellent laboratories for processes that affect airless body surfaces. S-complex (including V-type) NEAs were not expected to contain OH/H2O on their surfaces because they formed in the anhydrous regions of the solar system and their surface temperatures are high enough to remove these volatiles. However, a 3
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10377328
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.3847
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Planetary Science Journal
- Volume:
- 3
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 2632-3338
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: Article No. 243
- Size(s):
- ["Article No. 243"]
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract TC 3). However, correlating properties of the meteorite with those of the asteroid is not straightforward because the AhS stones are diverse types. Of those studied prior to this work, 70–80% are ureilites (achondrites) and 20–30% are various types of chondrites. Asteroid 2008TC 3was a heterogeneous breccia that disintegrated in the atmosphere, with its clasts landing on Earth as individual stones and most of its mass lost. We describe AhS 91A and AhS 671, which are the first AhS stones to show contacts between ureilitic and chondritic materials and provide direct information about the structure and composition of asteroid 2008TC 3. AhS 91A and AhS 671 are friable breccias, consisting of a C1 lithology that encloses rounded to angular clasts (<10 μm to 3 mm) of olivine, pyroxenes, plagioclase, graphite, and metal‐sulfide, as well as chondrules (~130–600 μm) and chondrule fragments. The C1 material consists of fine‐grained phyllosilicates (serpentine and saponite) and amorphous material, magnetite, breunnerite, dolomite, fayalitic olivine (Fo 28‐42), an unidentified Ca‐rich silicate phase, Fe,Ni sulfides, and minor Ca‐phosphate and ilmenite. It has similarities toCI 1 but shows evidence of heterogeneous thermal metamorphism. Its bulk oxygen isotope composition (δ18O = 13.53‰, δ17O = 8.93‰) is unlike that of any known chondrite, but similar to compositions of severalCC ‐like clasts in typical polymict ureilites. Its Cr isotope composition is unlike that of any known meteorite. The enclosed clasts and chondrules do not belong to the C1 lithology. The olivine (Fo 75‐88), pyroxenes (pigeonite of Wo ~10 and orthopyroxene of Wo ~4.6), plagioclase, graphite, and some metal‐sulfide are ureilitic, based on mineral compositions, textures, and oxygen isotope compositions, and represent at least six distinct ureilitic lithologies. The chondrules are probably derived from type 3OC and/orCC , based on mineral and oxygen isotope compositions. Some of the metal‐sulfide clasts are derived fromEC . AhS 91A and AhS 671 are plausible representatives of the bulk of the asteroid that was lost. Reflectance spectra of AhS 91A are dark (reflectance ~0.04–0.05) and relatively featureless inVNIR , and have an ~2.7 μm absorption band due toOH −in phyllosilicates. Spectral modeling, using mixtures of laboratoryVNIR reflectance spectra of AhS stones to fit the F‐type spectrum of the asteroid, suggests that 2008TC 3consisted mainly of ureilitic and AhS 91A‐like materials, with as much as 40–70% of the latter, and <10% ofOC ,EC , and other meteorite types. The bulk density of AhS 91A (2.35 ± 0.05 g cm−3) is lower than bulk densities of other AhS stones, and closer to estimates for the asteroid (~1.7–2.2 g cm−3). Its porosity (36%) is near the low end of estimates for the asteroid (33–50%), suggesting significant macroporosity. The textures of AhS 91A and AhS 671 (finely comminuted clasts of disparate materials intimately mixed) support formation of 2008TC 3in a regolith environment. AhS 91A and AhS 671 could represent a volume of regolith formed when aCC ‐like body impacted into already well‐gardened ureilitic + impactor‐derived debris. AhS 91A bulk samples do not show a solar wind component, so they represent subsurface layers. AhS 91A has a lower cosmic ray exposure (CRE ) age (~5–9 Ma) than previously studied AhS stones (11–22 Ma). The spread inCRE ages argues for irradiation in a regolith environment. AhS 91A and AhS 671 show that ureilitic asteroids could have detectable ~2.7 μm absorption bands. -
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Abstract We report a statistically significant detection of nongravitational acceleration on the subkilometer near-Earth asteroid (523599) 2003 RM. Due to its orbit, 2003 RM experiences favorable observing apparitions every 5 yr. Thus, since its discovery, 2003 RM has been extensively tracked with ground-based optical facilities in 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018. We find that the observed plane-of-sky positions cannot be explained with a purely gravity-driven trajectory. Including a transverse nongravitational acceleration allows us to match all observational data, but its magnitude is inconsistent with perturbations typical of asteroids such as the Yarkovsky effect or solar radiation pressure. After ruling out that the orbital deviations are due to a close approach or collision with another asteroid, we hypothesize that this anomalous acceleration is caused by unseen cometary outgassing. A detailed search for evidence of cometary activity with archival and deep observations from the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System and the Very Large Telescope does not reveal any detectable dust production. However, the best-fitting H2O sublimation model allows for brightening due to activity consistent with the scatter of the data. We estimate the production rate required for H2O outgassing to power the acceleration and find that, assuming a diameter of 300 m, 2003 RM would require Q(H2O) ∼ 1023molec s−1at perihelion. We investigate the recent dynamical history of 2003 RM and find that the object most likely originated in the mid-to-outer main belt (∼86% probability) as opposed to from the Jupiter-family comet region (∼11% probability). Further observations, especially in the infrared, could shed light on the nature of this anomalous acceleration.
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Introduction: With the capture of the first high- resolution, in-situ images of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) a couple of decades ago [1–4], the ubiquity of regolith and the granular nature of small objects in the Solar System became apparent. Benefiting from an increased access to high computing power, new numerical studies emerged, modeling granular structures forming and evolving as small bodies in the Solar System [5–7]. Now adding laboratory studies on granular material strength for asteroid and other small body applications [8,9], we are steadily progressing in our understanding of how regolith is shaping the interiors and surfaces of these worlds. In addition, our ever-more powerful observation capabilities are uncovering interesting dust-related phenomena in the outer skirts of our Solar System, in the form of activity at large heliocentric distances and rings [10–12]. We find that our recent progress in understanding the behavior of granular material in small body environments also has applications to the more distant worlds of Centaurs and Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). Internal Strength: We currently deduce internal friction of rubble piles from the observation of large numbers of small asteroids and their rotation rates, combined with the associated numerical simulations [13,14]. In the laboratory, we study internal friction of simulant materials using shear strength measurements [8]. Combining observations, modeling, and laboratory work, the picture emerges of rubble pile interiors being composed of coarse grains in the mm to cm range. The irregular shapes of the grains lead to mechanical interlocking, thus generating the internal friction required to match observations of the asteroid population [8,9]. We find that the presence of a fine fraction in the confined interior of a rubble pile actually leads weaker internal strength [9]. Surface Strength: Deducing surface regolith strength for NEOs is usually performed via average slope measurements [15–17] or, most notably, observing the outcome of an impact of known energy [18]. In the laboratory, we measure the angle of repose of simulant material via pouring tests, as well as its bulk cohesion using shear strength measurements [8]. In some cases, this allows us to infer grain size ranges for various regions of the surface and subsurface of pictured NEOs, beyond the resolution of their in-situ images. Surface Activity: The Rosetta mission revealed that a number of activity events on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko were linked to active surface geology, most notably avalanches and cliff collapses [19]. In addition, the role of regolith strength in asteroid disruption patterns has been inferred from numerical simulations of rotating rubble piles [20]. By studying strength differences in simulant samples, it becomes apparent that a difference in cohesion between a surface and its subsurface layer can lead to activity events with surface mass shedding, without the presence of volatiles sublimating as a driver [8]. We show that such differences in surface strength can be brought upon by a depletion in fine grains or a change in composition (e.g. depletion in water ice) and could account for regular activity patterns on small bodies, independently of their distance to the Sun. This is of particular interest to the study of Centaur activity and a potential mechanism for feeding ring systems.more » « less
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Abstract Volatile compositions of asteroids provide information on the Solar System history and the origins of Earth's volatiles. Visible to near‐infrared observations at wavelengths of <2.5 µm have suggested a genetic link between outer main belt asteroids located at 2.5–4 au and carbonaceous chondrite meteorites (CCs) that show isotopic similarities to volatile elements on Earth. However, recent longer wavelength data for large outer main belt asteroids show 3.1 μm absorption features of ammoniated phyllosilicates that are absent in CCs and cannot easily form from materials stable at those present distances. Here, by combining data collected by the AKARI space telescope and hydrological, geochemical, and spectral models of water‐rock reactions, we show that the surface materials of asteroids having 3.1 μm absorption features and CCs can originate from different regions of a single, water‐rock‐differentiated parent body. Ammoniated phyllosilicates form within the water‐rich mantles of the differentiated bodies containing NH3and CO2under high water‐rock ratios (>4) and low temperatures (<70°C). CCs can originate from the rock‐dominated cores, that are likely to be preferentially sampled as meteorites by disruption and transport processes. Our results suggest that multiple large main belt asteroids formed beyond the NH3and CO2snow lines (currently >10 au) and could be transported to their current locations. Earth's high hydrogen to carbon ratio may be explained by accretion of these water‐rich progenitors.
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Abstract Lava worlds are a potential emerging population of Super-Earths that are on close-in orbits around their host stars, with likely partially molten mantles. To date, few studies have addressed the impact of magma on the observed properties of a planet. At ambient conditions, magma is less dense than solid rock; however, it is also more compressible with increasing pressure. Therefore, it is unclear how large-scale magma oceans affect planet observables, such as bulk density. We update
ExoPlex , a thermodynamically self-consistent planet interior software, to include anhydrous, hydrous (2.2 wt% H2O), and carbonated magmas (5.2 wt% CO2). We find that Earth-like planets with magma oceans larger than ∼1.5R ⊕and ∼3.2M ⊕are modestly denser than an equivalent-mass solid planet. From our model, three classes of mantle structures emerge for magma ocean planets: (1) a mantle magma ocean, (2) a surface magma ocean, and (3) one consisting of a surface magma ocean, a solid rock layer, and a basal magma ocean. The class of planets in which a basal magma ocean is present may sequester dissolved volatiles on billion-year timescales, in which a 4M ⊕mass planet can trap more than 130 times the mass of water than in Earth’s present-day oceans and 1000 times the carbon in the Earth’s surface and crust.
