[meteorite-list] Solar system mystery 'solved'

From: Jim Wooddell <nf114ec_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:52:56 -0700
Message-ID: <60B9CD6648374E989D68210112D51339_at_Grande>

Hi All!

Is there a published document out on this?

Jim


Jim Wooddell
http://k7wfr.us

----- Original Message -----
From: "Thunder Stone" <stanleygregr at hotmail.com>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 12:16 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Solar system mystery 'solved'



List:
Any thoughts on this?
Greg S.


http://zeenews.india.com/news/space/solar-system-mystery-solved_770352.html


Solar system mystery 'solved'

Washington: Planetary scientists claim they may have discovered how
"chondrules", tiny particles found in meteorites, formed at the beginning of
the solar system, thus solving the decades-old cosmic conundrum.
Chondrules are spherical particles of molten material found in meteorites
but their origins have long been a mystery. No longer than about one
millimetre in diameter, they melted at temperatures of more than 1,000
degrees Celsius, while the cooler materials surrounding them only
experienced temperatures of a few hundred degrees Celsius.
Now, an international team, led by Australian National University, has
cracked the mystery as to how "chondrules" could have actually formed in
extreme heat, especially when the meteorite structure surrounding them
remained cold.
"Most of the solar system is cold, so it's been unclear for decades what
caused the chondrules to experience such extreme heat. We believe that
chondrules formed in jets of material ejected from flattened discs, called
'protostellar discs', which encircle young stars.
"These discs are somewhat like the rings around the planet Saturn. The
modern planets are the remnants of material of these discs clumping
together. In observations of the formation of new stars, we can see jets of
material accelerating out of protostellar discs.
"We show that as these jets shoot out of the discs, from about the Earth-Sun
distance away, the materials brought with them are heated to the point of
melting. The heavier items in them then drop back into the discs, where they
cool and re- form," Raquel Salmeron, who led the team, said.
The scientists said that their theory challenged old assumptions about the
formation of chondrules.
"For decades it has been assumed that jets could only form chondrules
through the heating of materials in the vicinity of the Sun, followed by
their transportation into protostellar discs," Salmeron said in a varsity
release.
"We believe that our new theory explains how chondrules -- among the
earliest materials in the solar system -- reached the temperatures required
for melting, even though the early solar nebula was cold. It also explains
the fairly uniform size of chondrules and provides a means for them to mix
and combine with unheated material," Salmeron added.
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Received on Wed 18 Apr 2012 06:52:56 PM PDT