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Review of asteroid, meteor, and meteorite‐type links

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: With the goal to determine the origin of our meteorites in the asteroid belt, video and photographic observations of meteors have now tracked 75 meteorite falls. Six years ago, there were just hints that different meteorite types arrived on different orbits, but now, the number of orbits ( N ) is high enough for distinct patterns to emerge. In general, 0.1–1‐m sized meteoroids do not arrive on similar orbits as the larger ~1‐km sized near‐Earth asteroids (NEA) of corresponding taxonomic class. Unlike larger NEA, a group of H chondrite meteoroids arrived on low‐inclined orbits from a source just beyond the 5:2 mean‐motion resonance with Jupiter ( N = 12), three of which have the 7 Ma cosmic ray exposure (CRE) age from a significant collision event among H chondrites. There is also a source of H chondrites low in the inner main belt with a ~35 Ma CRE age ( N = 8). In contrast, larger H‐like taxonomic S‐class NEA arrive from high‐inclined orbits out of the 3:1 resonance. Some H chondrites do so also, four of which have a 6 Ma CRE age and two have an 18 Ma CRE age. L chondrites arrive from a single source low in the inner main belt, mostly via the ν 6 secular resonance ( N = 21), not the 3:1 resonance as most L‐like NEA do. LL chondrites arrive too from the inner main belt ( N = 5), as do larger LL‐like NEA. CM chondrites are delivered from a low i < 3 ° inclined source beyond the 3:1 resonance ( N = 4). Source asteroid families for these meteorite types are proposed, many of which have the same CRE age as the asteroid family's dynamical age. Also, two HED achondrites are now traced to specific impact craters on asteroid Vesta.
DOI: 10.1111/maps.14321
Language: English
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,300
Award: SCIENTIFIC GOAL AND OBJECTIVES: THE SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THIS OBSERVING PROGRAM IS TO CHARACTERIZE THE MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF NEAR EARTH OBJECTS (NEO) AND THE MAIN BELT ASTEROID FAMILIES THAT THEY TRACE BACK TO. THE GOAL IS TO DEVELOP THE TECHNOLOGY NEEDED TO GREATLY SCALE UP THE MEASUREMENT OF PRE-ATMOSPHERIC ORBITS OF METEORITE FALLS. THE RESULTING ORBITAL ELEMENTS FOR DIFFERENT METEORITE TYPES WILL BE COMPARED TO DYNAMICAL MODELS OF THE ORBITAL EVOLUTION OF SMALL (10-300 CM SIZED) ASTEROIDS FROM MAIN BELT TO NEO ORBITS IN ORDER TO STATISTICALLY DETERMINE THE LIKELIHOOD THAT A METEORITE ORIGINATES FROM A GIVEN ASTEROID FAMILY. METHODS: A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF DESERT FIREBALL NETWORK CAMERAS ARE AVAILABLE FOR DEPLOYMENT IN THE ARID REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE AUSTRALIAN PARTNER OF NASA'S SERVII PROGRAM. THESE ARE MODIFIED DIGITAL STILL CAMERAS WITH ALL-SKY OBJECTIVES AND A LIQUID CRYSTAL SHUTTER THAT HAVE PROVEN TO GENERATE SUPERIOR FIREBALL TRAJECTORIES AND ORBITS. SUPPORT IS REQUESTED TO DEPLOY AND MANAGE THIS NETWORK IN THE UNITED STATES. IN ORDER TO GREATLY SCALE UP THE RECOVERY OF METEORITES FROM SUCH NETWORKS CAMERA SYSTEMS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND DESIGNED TO FUNCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE DESERT FIREBALL NETWORK CAMERAS THAT CAN TRACK THE FIREBALL FRAGMENTS TO THE GROUND AND HELP FIND METEORITES IN THE LOCAL TERRAIN. SPECIFICALLY A TELESCOPIC CAMERA SYSTEM WILL BE DEVELOPED THAT RAPIDLY SLEWS TO THE METEOR AND RECORDS BOTH STAR BACKGROUND AND METEOR FRAGMENTS AT HIGH FRAME RATE. THAT DATA WILL BE TRIANGULATED AND METEORITE IMPACT LOCATIONS ON THE GROUND CALCULATED. THE TECHNOLOGY FOR FINDING METEORITES USING DRONES EQUIPPED WITH DEEP-LEARNING ALGORITHMS WILL BE FURTHER DEVELOPED. RELEVANCE: THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO CONDUCT A PROGRAM OF GROUND-BASED ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS THAT CONTRIBUTES TO UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE AND EVOLUTION OF SMALL 0.1-3M SIZED NEAR EARTH OBJECTS. THE PROPOSED WORK IS THE MOST DIRECT APPROACH POSSIBLE SHORT OF SAMPLE RETURN FROM KNOWN ASTEROIDS TO IDENTIFY WHAT METEORITES SAMPLE NEAR EARTH OBJECTS THAT EVOLVED FROM THE SAME SOURCE REGIONS.
OpenAlex ID: W4408519470
FWCI: 9.943
Cites: 343
Cited by: 22
Related to: 10