The impact and recovery of asteroid 2008 TC3

P. Jenniskens (), M. H. Shaddad, D. Numan, S. Elsir, A. M. Kudoda, M. E. Zolensky, L. Le, G. A. Robinson, J. M. Friedrich, D. Rumble, A. Steele, S. R. Chesley, A. Fitzsimmons, S. Duddy, H. H. Hsieh, G. Ramsay, P. G. Brown, W. N. Edwards, E. Tagliaferri, M. B. Boslough, R. E. Spalding, R. Dantowitz, M. Kozubal, P. Pravec, J. Borovicka, Z. Charvat, J. Vaubaillon, J. Kuiper, J. Albers, J. L. Bishop, R. L. Mancinelli, S. A. Sandford, S. N. Milam, M. Nuevo and S. P. Worden
Additional contact information
P. Jenniskens: SETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center, 515 North Whisman Road, Mountain View, California 94043, USA
M. H. Shaddad: University of Khartoum, PO Box 321, Khartoum 11115, Sudan
D. Numan: University of Khartoum, PO Box 321, Khartoum 11115, Sudan
S. Elsir: Juba University
A. M. Kudoda: University of Khartoum, PO Box 321, Khartoum 11115, Sudan
M. E. Zolensky: NASA Johnson Space Center, Mail Code KT, Houston, Texas 77058, USA
L. Le: NASA Johnson Space Center, Mail Code KT, Houston, Texas 77058, USA
G. A. Robinson: NASA Johnson Space Center, Mail Code KT, Houston, Texas 77058, USA
J. M. Friedrich: Fordham University, 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, New York 10458, USA
D. Rumble: Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road, NW, Washington DC 20015-1305, USA
A. Steele: Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road, NW, Washington DC 20015-1305, USA
S. R. Chesley: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA
A. Fitzsimmons: School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
S. Duddy: School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
H. H. Hsieh: School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
G. Ramsay: Armagh Observatory, College Hill
P. G. Brown: University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
W. N. Edwards: University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
E. Tagliaferri: ET Space Systems, 5990 Worth Way, Camarillo, California 93012, USA
M. B. Boslough: Sandia National Laboratories, PO Box 5800, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, USA
R. E. Spalding: Sandia National Laboratories, PO Box 5800, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, USA
R. Dantowitz: Clay Center Observatory, Dexter and Southfield Schools, 20 Newton Street, Brookline, Massachusetts 02445, USA
M. Kozubal: Clay Center Observatory, Dexter and Southfield Schools, 20 Newton Street, Brookline, Massachusetts 02445, USA
P. Pravec: Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences, Fričova 298, 25165 Ondřejov Observatory, Czech Republic
J. Borovicka: Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences, Fričova 298, 25165 Ondřejov Observatory, Czech Republic
Z. Charvat: Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Na Sabatce 17, 143 06 Praha 4, Czech Republic
J. Vaubaillon: Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Éphémérides, 77 avenue Denfert-Rochereau, 75014 Paris, France
J. Kuiper: Dutch Meteor Society, Akker 141, 3732 XD De Bilt, The Netherlands
J. Albers: SETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center, 515 North Whisman Road, Mountain View, California 94043, USA
J. L. Bishop: SETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center, 515 North Whisman Road, Mountain View, California 94043, USA
R. L. Mancinelli: SETI Institute, Carl Sagan Center, 515 North Whisman Road, Mountain View, California 94043, USA
S. A. Sandford: NASA Ames Research Center, Mail Stop 245-6, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA
S. N. Milam: NASA Ames Research Center, Mail Stop 245-6, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA
M. Nuevo: NASA Ames Research Center, Mail Stop 245-6, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA
S. P. Worden: NASA Ames Research Center, Mail Stop 245-6, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA

Nature, 2009, vol. 458, issue 7237, 485-488

Abstract: Needle in a haystack: tracking down the fragments of asteroid 2008 TC3 On 6 October 2008, a small Earth-bound asteroid designated 2008 TC3 was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey. Some 19 hours — and many astronomical observations — later it entered the atmosphere and disintegrated at 37 km altitude. No macroscopic fragments were expected to have survived but a dedicated search along the approach trajectory in a desert in northern Sudan has recovered 47 meteorites, fragments of a single body named Almahata Sitta, with a total mass of 3.95 kg. The asteroid and meteorite reflectance spectra identify the asteroid as surface matter from a class 'F' asteroid, material so fragile that it was not previously represented in meteorite collections. To have recovered meteorites from a known class of asteroids is a coup on a par with a successful spacecraft sample-return mission — without the rocket science.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07920

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