[meteorite-list] Vesta meteorite???

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:27:53 2004
Message-ID: <200311261655.IAA16137_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

>
> Thanks Ron!!! do you have the information of all this asteroids?? I would
> like to have this information, thanks a lot!!!! like orbit, names, spectra
> etc

I have a couple of references which I'll send along. Here's one:




Drake MJ: The eucrite/Vesta story
METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE 36 (4): 501-513 APR 2001

Many lines of evidence indicate that meteorites are derived from the
asteroid belt but, in general, identifying any meteorite class with a
particular asteroid has been problematical. One exception is asteroid 4
Vesta, where a strong case can be made that it is the ultimate source of the
howardite-eucrite-diogenite (HED) family of basaltic achondrites. Visible
and near-infrared reflectance spectra first suggested a connection between
Vesta and the basaltic achondrites. Experimental petrology demonstrated that
the eucrites (the relatively unaltered and unmixed basaltic achondrites)
were the product of approximately a 10% melt. Studies of siderophile element
partitioning suggested that this melt was the residue of an asteroidal-scale
magma ocean. Mass balance considerations point to a parent body that had its
surface excavated, but remains intact. Modem telescopic spectroscopy has
identified kilometer-scale "Vestoids" between Vesta and the 3:1 orbit-orbit
resonance with Jupiter. Dynamical simulations of impact into Vesta
demonstrate the plausibility of ejecting relatively unshocked material at
velocities consistent with these astronomical observations. Hubble Space
Telescope images show a 460 km diameter impact basin at the south pole of
Vesta. It seems that nature has provided multiple free sample return
missions to a unique asteroid. Major challenges are to establish the
geologic context of the HED meteorites on the surface of Vesta and to
connect the remaining meteorites to specific asteroids.

Addresses:
Drake MJ, Univ Arizona, Lunar & Planetary Lab, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
Univ Arizona, Lunar & Planetary Lab, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
Received on Wed 26 Nov 2003 11:55:32 AM PST