Compositional differences between meteorites and near-Earth asteroids

P. Vernazza (), R. P. Binzel, C. A. Thomas, F. E. DeMeo, S. J. Bus, A. S. Rivkin and A. T. Tokunaga
Additional contact information
P. Vernazza: European Space Agency, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
R. P. Binzel: Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
C. A. Thomas: Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
F. E. DeMeo: Laboratoire d’Etudes Spatiales et d’Instrumentation en Astrophysique, Observatoire de Paris, 5 Place Jules Janssen, Meudon, F-92195, France
S. J. Bus: Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 640 North A’ohoku Place, Hilo, Hawaii 96720, USA
A. S. Rivkin: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, Maryland 20723, USA
A. T. Tokunaga: Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA

Nature, 2008, vol. 454, issue 7206, 858-860

Abstract: Hazardous asteroids: where they are coming from New spectral measurements of near-Earth asteroids reveal, as might be expected, overall compositions similar to the most commonly falling meteorites, the ordinary chondrites. But the compositional distribution is un-expected: about two-thirds of near-Earth asteroids, including those most likely to hit us, match the class of meteorites known as LL chondrites, which comprise only about 8% of all meteorite falls. This may reflect an origin at the asteroid belt's inner edge, where the family of asteroids produced by the break-up of the Flora parent body predominates. A possible explanation might lie in the involvement of size-dependent processes in the transport of material from the main asteroid belt to the vicinity of Earth's orbit.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07154

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