Parent body

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A parent body in meteoritics is the celestial body from which originates a meteorite or a class of meteorites. [1]

Contents

Identification

It is easiest to correlate a meteorite with a parent body when the parent body still exists. This is the case for Lunar and Martian meteorites. Samples from suspected Lunar meteorites can be compared with samples from the Apollo program. Martian meteorites can be compared to analysis carried out by rovers (e.g. Curiosity).

Meteorites can also be compared to spectral classes of asteroids. In order to identify the parent body of a class of meteorites, scientists compare their albedo and spectra with other known bodies. These studies show that some meteorite classes are closely related to some asteroids. The HED meteorites for example are correlated with 4 Vesta. [2]

Another, perhaps most useful way to classify meteorites by parent bodies is by grouping them according to composition, with types from each hypothetical parent body clustering on a graph. [3] Meteoriticists have tentatively linked extant meteorites to 100-150 parent bodies, far fewer than the ~1 million main-belt asteroids larger than a kilometer. This apparent sampling bias remains an area of active research. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Phobos is the innermost and larger of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Deimos. The two moons were discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall. It is named after Phobos, the Greek god of fear and panic, who is the son of Ares (Mars) and twin brother of Deimos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martian meteorite</span> Meteorite made of rock originating from Mars

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deimos (moon)</span> Smallest and outer moon of Mars

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar meteorite</span> Meteorite that originated from the Moon

A lunar meteorite is a meteorite that is known to have originated on the Moon. A meteorite hitting the Moon is normally classified as a transient lunar phenomenon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Achondrite</span> Stony meteorite that does not contain chondrules

An achondrite is a stony meteorite that does not contain chondrules. It consists of material similar to terrestrial basalts or plutonic rocks and has been differentiated and reprocessed to a lesser or greater degree due to melting and recrystallization on or within meteorite parent bodies. As a result, achondrites have distinct textures and mineralogies indicative of igneous processes.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sample-return mission</span> Spacecraft mission

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Kaidun is a meteorite that fell on 3 December 1980 on a Soviet military base near what is now Al-Khuraybah in Yemen. A fireball was observed travelling from the northwest to the southeast, and a single stone weighing about 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) was recovered from a small impact pit. It has been suggested that Kaidun originated from the Martian moon of Phobos, but this is disputed.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crater counting</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angrite</span> Rare group of achondrite meteorites

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nakhlite</span> Group of Martian meteorites

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary science</span> Science of planets and planetary systems

Planetary science is the scientific study of planets, celestial bodies and planetary systems and the processes of their formation. It studies objects ranging in size from micrometeoroids to gas giants, aiming to determine their composition, dynamics, formation, interrelations and history. It is a strongly interdisciplinary field, which originally grew from astronomy and Earth science, and now incorporates many disciplines, including planetary geology, cosmochemistry, atmospheric science, physics, oceanography, hydrology, theoretical planetary science, glaciology, and exoplanetology. Allied disciplines include space physics, when concerned with the effects of the Sun on the bodies of the Solar System, and astrobiology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IVB meteorite</span> Type of iron meteorite

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This is a glossary of terms used in meteoritics, the science of meteorites.

Catherine Margaret Corrigan, often known as Cari Corrigan, is an American scientist best known as a curator of the meteorite collection at the Smithsonian Institution. She is a scientist in the Department of Mineral Science at the National Museum of Natural History.

Comparative planetary science or comparative planetology is a branch of space science and planetary science in which different natural processes and systems are studied by their effects and phenomena on and between multiple bodies. The planetary processes in question include geology, hydrology, atmospheric physics, and interactions such as impact cratering, space weathering, and magnetospheric physics in the solar wind, and possibly biology, via astrobiology.

Laurence E. Nyquist is an American planetary scientist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He is known for his contributions to knowledge of the chronometry of planetary materials, which have been important in understanding time-scales for accretion, differentiation, and impacts on meteorite parent bodies. His NASA biography also records contributions to the study of noble gases in iron meteorites and lunar samples, radiometric age dating and isotope geochemistry of lunar, Martian, and meteoric samples, and the application of stable isotope methods to biomedical research. He has served as an Associate Editor of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta and Proceedings of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Asteroidal water is water or water precursor deposits such as hydroxide (OH) that exist in asteroids. The "snow line" of the Solar System lies outside of the main asteroid belt, and the majority of water is expected in minor planets. Nevertheless, a significant amount of water is also found inside the snow line, including in near-earth objects (NEOs).

References

  1. J.H. Shirley, R.W. Fairbridge. Encyclopedia of Planetary Sciences, page 111.
  2. Gunter Faure, Teresa M. Mensing. Introduction to Planetary Science: The Geological Perspective. Page 175. ISBN   9781402052330
  3. 1 2 Burbine et al., "Meteoritic Parent Bodies: Their Number and Identification." Accessed May 24, 2014