The Tagish Lake meteorite: a possible sample from a D-type asteroid

A new type of carbonaceous chondrite, the Tagish Lake meteorite, exhibits a reflectance spectrum similar to spectra observed from the D-type asteroids, which are relatively abundant in the outer solar system beyond the main asteroid belt and have been inferred to be more primitive than any known meteorite. Until the Tagish Lake fall, these asteroids had no analog in the meteorite collections. The Tagish Lake meteorite is a carbon-rich (4 to 5 weight %), aqueously altered carbonaceous chondrite and contains high concentrations of presolar grains and carbonate minerals, which is consistent with the expectation that the D-type asteroids were originally made of primitive materials and did not experience any extensive heating.     

PLANETARY SCIENCE: Enhanced: A Meteorite Falls on Ice

Primitive meteorites provide a glimpse into the early history of our solar system, but some of the most primitive meteorites are also rarely found on Earth. In his Perspective, Grossman explains why the fall of the Tagish Lake meteorite on 18 January 2000 in British Columbia, Canada, was a lucky event for meteorite researchers. The first analysis of the meteorite is reported by Brown et al. Well-preserved organic matter in the meteorite provides a unique opportunity to study the nature and origin of organic matter that may have accreted on early Earth and played a role in the origin of life.     

Origin and evolution of prebiotic organic matter as inferred from the Tagish Lake meteorite

The complex suite of organic materials in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites probably originally formed in the interstellar medium and/or the solar protoplanetary disk, but was subsequently modified in the meteorites' asteroidal parent bodies. The mechanisms of formation and modification are still very poorly understood. We carried out a systematic study of variations in the mineralogy, petrology, and soluble and insoluble organic matter in distinct fragments of the Tagish Lake meteorite. The variations correlate with indicators of parent body aqueous alteration. At least some molecules of prebiotic importance formed during the alteration.     

The organic content of the Tagish Lake meteorite

The Tagish Lake meteorite fell last year on a frozen lake in Canada and may provide the most pristine material of its kind. Analyses have now shown this carbonaceous chondrite to contain a suite of soluble organic compounds (approximately 100 parts per million) that includes mono- and dicarboxylic acids, dicarboximides, pyridine carboxylic acids, a sulfonic acid, and both aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. The insoluble carbon exhibits exclusive aromatic character, deuterium enrichment, and fullerenes containing "planetary" helium and argon. The findings provide insight into an outcome of early solar chemical evolution that differs from any seen so far in meteorites.     

Organic globules in the Tagish Lake meteorite: remnants of the protosolar disk

Coordinated transmission electron microscopy and isotopic measurements of organic globules in the Tagish Lake meteorite shows that they have elevated ratios of nitrogen-15 to nitrogen-14 (1.2 to 2 times terrestrial) and of deuterium to hydrogen (2.5 to 9 times terrestrial). These isotopic anomalies are indicative of mass fractionation during chemical reactions at extremely low temperatures (10 to 20 kelvin), characteristic of cold molecular clouds and the outer protosolar disk. The globules probably originated as organic ice coatings on preexisting grains that were photochemically processed into refractory organic matter. The globules resemble cometary carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen (CHON) particles, suggesting that such grains were important constituents of the solar system starting materials.     

Near-Earth asteroids: possible sources from reflectance spectroscopy

Spectra of near-Earth asteroids were compared to spectra of selected asteroids, planets, and satellites to determine possible source regions. The diversity of reflectance spectra of the near-Earth asteroids implies different mineralogical compositions and hence more than one source region. The presence of near-Earth asteroid spectral signatures similar to those of certain main-belt asteroids supports models that derive some of these asteroids from the 5:2 Kirkwood gap and the Flora family by gravitational perturbations. Planetary and satellite surfaces are different in composition than the near-Earth asteroids, which is in agreement with theoretical arguments that such bodies should not be sources. Some near-Earth asteroids supply portions of Earth's meteorite flux, but other sources must also contribute.     

The meteorite-asteroid connection: two olivine-rich asteroids

Two asteroids have clear indications of olivine-rich surface petrology without any indication of pyroxene or plagioclase, suggesting that the olivine may be quite pure. They provide probable examples of mantles of differentiated parent asteroids exposed by fragmentation and are good candidates for the parent bodies of the unusual olivine meteorite Brachina or the olivine-iron alloy meteorites called pallasites.     

Discovery of a main-belt asteroid resembling ordinary chondrite meteorites

Although ordinary chondrite material dominates meteorite falls, the identification of a main-belt asteroid source has remained elusive. From a new survey of more than 80 small main-belt asteroids comes the discovery of one having a visible and near-infrared reflectance spectrum similar to L6 and LL6 ordinary chondrite meteorites. Asteroid 3628 BoZnemcová has an estimated diameter of 7 kilometers and is located in the vicinity of the 3:1 Jovian resonance, a predicted meteorite source region. Although the discovery of a spectral match may indicate the existence of ordinary chondrite material within the main asteroid belt, the paucity of such detections remains an unresolved problem.     

Meteorite impact crater discovered in central alaska with landsat imagery

Several supporting observations indicate that Sithylemenkat Lake, Alaska; occupies a meteorite impact crater formed near the end of the Wisconsinan glaciation. The initial identification with Landsat imagery is attributed to the unique perspective provided by such imagery.     

Ancient asteroids enriched in refractory inclusions

Calcium- and aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) occur in all classes of chondritic meteorites and contain refractory minerals predicted to be the first condensates from the solar nebula. Near-infrared spectra of CAIs have strong 2-micrometer absorptions, attributed to iron oxide-bearing aluminous spinel. Similar absorptions are present in the telescopic spectra of several asteroids; modeling indicates that these contain approximately 30 +/- 10% CAIs (two to three times that of any meteorite). Survival of these undifferentiated, large (50- to 100-kilometer diameter) CAI-rich bodies suggests that they may have formed before the injection of radiogenic 26Al into the solar system. They have also experienced only modest post-accretionary alteration. Thus, these asteroids have higher concentrations of CAI material, appear less altered, and are more ancient than any known sample in our meteorite collection, making them prime candidates for sample return.     

Mesosiderite clasts with the most extreme positive europium anomalies among solar system rocks

Pigeonite-plagioclase gabbros that occur as clasts in mesosiderites (brecciated stony-iron meteorites) show extreme fractionations of the rare-earth elements (REEs) with larger positive europium anomalies than any previously known for igneous rocks from the Earth, moon, or meteorite parent bodies and greater depletions of light REEs relative to heavy REEs than known for comparable cumulate gabbros. The REE pattern for merrillite in one of these clasts is depleted in light REEs and has a large positive europium anomaly as a result of metamorphic equilibration with the silicates. The extreme REE ratios exhibited by the mesosiderite clasts demonstrate that multistage igneous processes must have occurred on some asteroids in the early solar system. Melting of the crust by large-scale impacts or electrical induction from an early T-Tauri-phase sun may be responsible for these processes.     

Detection of a meteoritic component in ivory coast tektites with rhenium-osmium isotopes

Measurement of rhenium (Re) and osmium (Os) concentrations and Os isotopic compositions in Ivory Coast tektites (natural glasses with upper crustal compositions that are ejected great distances during meteorite impact) and rocks from the inferred source crater, Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana, show that these tektites incorporate about 0.6 percent of a meteoritic component. Analysis of elemental abundances of noble metals alone gives equivocal results in the detection of meteoritic components because the target rocks already have relatively large amounts of noble metals. The Re-Os system is ideally suited for the study of meteorite impacts on old continental crust for three reasons. (i) The isotopic compositions of the target rocks and the meteoritic impactor are significantly different. (ii) Closed-system mixing of target rocks and meteorites is linear on Re-Os isochron diagrams, which thus permits identification of the loss of Re or Os. (iii) Osmium isotopic compositions are not likely to be altered during meteorite impact even if Re and Os are lost.     

Erratum

The time of impact of a meteorite at Lake Acraman is estimated to have been around 600 million years ago, when materials were being deposited in the Bunyeroo Formation, not 1 billion years ago as stated in "Meteorite scenario pieced together" (This Week in Science, 11 July, p. 139).     

Evidence of thermal metamorphism on the C, g, B, and f asteroids

Reflectance spectra (0.3 to 2.6 micrometers) of 14 C, G, B, and F asteroids and 21 carbonaceous chondrite powders are compared in detail. Only three thermally metamorphosed CM-Cl chondrites that have a weak ultraviolet absorption are shown to have close counterparts among those asteroids. Reflectance spectra of heated Murchison CM2 chondrite are compared with the average C and G type asteroid spectra. Murchison heated at 600 degrees to 1000 degrees C exhibits a similar weak ultraviolet absorption and provides the best analog for those spectra. Comparison of ultraviolet absorption strengths between 160 C, G, B, and F asteroids and carbonaceous chondrites suggests that surface minerals of most of those asteroids are thermally metamorphosed at temperatures around 600 degrees to 1000 degrees C.     

Meteorite fail at pueblito de allende, chihuahua, Mexico: preliminary information

Specimens from the meteorite fall at 1:05 a. m., on 8 February 1969 at Pueblito de Allende, Chihuahua, Mexico, have been recovered. The meteorite is a chondrite (C3 and C4) with both opaque and microcrystalline matrices. Specimens were brought to a low background gamma counter less than 4 (1/2) days after the fall, and gamma rays from short-lived isotopes have been observed.     

Butler, missouri: an iron meteorite with extremely high germanium content

The Butler iron meteorite has been found to have a germanium concentration of 2000 parts per million, which is about five times higher than the highest concentration that has been measured previously in an iron meteorite. The gallium concentration is 87 parts per million, which is among the highest concentrations found in these objects. The nickel content is 16.0 percent, the second highest nickel concentration known in a meteorite displaying a Widman st?tten pattern. The high Ge/Ni ratio, as well as the association of a high nickel content with high gallium and germanium contents, make this object an exception to two geochemical generalizations regarding the iron meteorites.     

Compositional structure of the asteroid belt

The distribution of compositional types among the asteroids is found to vary systematically with heliocentric distance. Seven distinct peaks in the relative proportion of the compositional types E, R, S, M, F, C, P, and D are found from 1.8 to 5.2 astronomical units. The inferred composition of the asteroids in each semimajor axis region is consistent with the theory that the asteroids accreted from the solar nebula at or near their present locations.     

Chemical analyses of lunar samples 10017, 10072, and 10084

A crystalline rock, a vesicular rock, and a dust sample returned by Apollo 11 were chemically analyzed by several methods. The compositions of these samples are unlike that of any known rock or meteorite.     

Binary asteroids: evidence for their existence from lightcurves

The lightcurves of the asteroids 49 Pales and 171 Ophelia bear a striking resemblance to those of eclipsing binary stars. This evidence suggests that these asteroids are binary objects. Asteroids belonging to the Themis dynamical family have unusual lightcurves, possibly due to satellite events; these unusual lightcurves suggest that multiple objects may be formed during the disruption of asteroids in collisional events.     

Mining the apollo and amor asteroids

Earth-approaching asteroids could provide raw materials for space manufacturing. For certain asteroids the total energy per unit mass for the transfer of asteroidal resources to a manufacturing site in high Earth orbit is comparable to that for lunar materials. For logistical reasons the cost may be many times less. Optical studies suggest that these asteroids have compositions corresponding to those of carbonaceous and ordinary chondrites, with some containing large quantities of iron and nickel; others are thought to contain carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen, elements that appear to be lacking on the moon. The prospect that several new candidate asteroids will be discovered over the next few years increases the likelihood that a variety of asteroidal resource materials can be retrieved on low-energy missions.