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PLANETARY SCIENCE: Most-Common Meteorites Find a Home Among the Asteroids
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|September 11, 2007
Summary
Researchers discovered that the S-type asteroid Eros, orbited by the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft, shares the same elemental composition as ordinary chondrites. This finding may solve the long-standing puzzle of meteorite origins.
Area of Science:
- Planetary Science
- Cosmochemistry
- Meteoritics
Background:
- Ordinary chondrites are the most common type of meteorite found on Earth.
- S-type asteroids are the most common type of asteroid in the inner solar system.
- A long-standing puzzle in meteoritics is the apparent mismatch between the composition of ordinary chondrites and S-type asteroids.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the elemental composition of the S-type asteroid Eros.
- To determine if Eros has the same composition as ordinary chondrites.
- To address the discrepancy between common meteorite types and common asteroid types.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of elemental composition using data from the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft.
- Orbital and in-situ measurements of the asteroid Eros.
Main Results:
- The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft's analysis revealed that the asteroid Eros is composed of the same materials as ordinary chondrites.
- This marks the first-ever elemental composition analysis of an asteroid by a spacecraft.
Conclusions:
- The S-type asteroid Eros is a potential source for ordinary chondrite meteorites.
- This finding helps resolve the long-standing puzzle regarding the origin of common meteorites.
- Spacecraft-based elemental analysis provides crucial data for understanding solar system formation and evolution.
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