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Published on: June 5, 2014
Condensation time of the solar nebula from extinct I in primitive meteorites
Abstract:
Mineral separates from five carbonaceous chondrites were dated by extinct 16 million year (129)I, in an attempt to establish the condensation time of the solar nebula. Two Fe(3)O(4) or Fe(3)O(4)-FeS samples from the Murchison and Orgueil meteorites are older than any other material dated thus far, and apparently formed within 2 x 10(5) years of each other. The great age, close isochronism, and primitive nature of the samples suggest that the event recorded was the condensation stage of the solar nebula. It provides a suitable zero point for the chronology of the early solar system. The (129)I/(127)I ratio during condensation of the nebula was (1.46 +/- 0.04) x 10(-4). The recrystallized C4 chondrite Karoonda began to retain (129)Xe 1.8 +/- 0.5 million years after the above event. This short cooling time implies rapid aceretion (=1 million years) and a shallow origin (=10 km) below the surface of its parent body.
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