Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Compositional differences between meteorites and near-Earth asteroids

Nature volume 454, pages 858–860 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Understanding the nature and origin of the asteroid population in Earth’s vicinity (near-Earth asteroids, and its subset of potentially hazardous asteroids) is a matter of both scientific interest and practical importance1. It is generally expected that the compositions of the asteroids that are most likely to hit Earth should reflect those of the most common meteorites. Here we report that most near-Earth asteroids (including the potentially hazardous subset) have spectral properties quantitatively similar to the class of meteorites known as LL chondrites. The prominent Flora family in the inner part of the asteroid belt shares the same spectral properties, suggesting that it is a dominant source of near-Earth asteroids. The observed similarity of near-Earth asteroids to LL chondrites is, however, surprising, as this meteorite class is relatively rare (∼8 per cent of all meteorite falls). One possible explanation is the role of a size-dependent process, such as the Yarkovsky effect, in transporting material from the main belt.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Spectral comparisons of asteroids and meteorites.
Figure 2: Model results for the ratio of olivine to olivine+orthopyroxene for 57 ordinary chondrites and 38 S- and Q-type NEAs.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Gehrels, T., Matthews, M. S. & Schumann, A. M. Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids (Univ. Arizona Press, 1994)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Binzel, R. P. et al. Observed spectral properties of near-Earth objects: Results for population distribution, source regions, and space weathering processes. Icarus 170, 259–294 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Stuart, J. S. & Binzel, R. P. Bias-corrected population, size distribution, and impact hazard for the near-Earth objects. Icarus 170, 295–311 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Rayner, J. T. et al. A medium-resolution 0.8–5.5 micron spectrograph and imager for the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility. Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacif. 115, 362–382 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Shkuratov, Y., Starukhina, L., Hoffmann, H. & Arnold, G. A model of spectral albedo of particulate surfaces: Implications for optical properties of the Moon. Icarus 137, 235–246 (1999)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Lucey, P. G. Model near-infrared optical constants of olivine and pyroxene as a function of iron content. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 1703–1714 (1998)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hutchison, R. Meteorites: A Petrologic, Chemical and Isotopic Synthesis (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2004)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Clark, B. E., Hapke, B., Pieters, C. & Britt, D. in Asteroids III (eds Bottke, W. F., Cellino, A., Paolicchi, P. & Binzel, R. P.) 585–599 (Univ. Arizona Press, 2002)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Brunetto, R. et al. Modeling asteroid surfaces from observations and irradiation experiments: The case of 832 Karin. Icarus 184, 327–337 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Bottke, W. F., Vokrouhlikcy, D., Rubincam, D. P. & Broz, M. in Asteroids III (eds Bottke, W. F., Cellino, A., Paolicchi, P. & Binzel, R. P.) 395–408 (Univ. Arizona Press, 2002)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Nesvorný, D., Morbidelli, A., Vokrouhlický, D., Bottke, W. F. & Brož, M. The Flora family: A case of the dynamically dispersed collisional swarm? Icarus 157, 155–172 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Chapman, C. R. S-type asteroids, ordinary chondrites, and space weathering: The evidence from Galileo's fly-bys of Gaspra and Ida. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 31, 699–725 (1996)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Gaffey, M. J. Rotational spectral variations of asteroid 8 Flora: Implications for the nature of S-type asteroids and for the parent bodies of ordinary chondrite meteorites. Icarus 60, 83–114 (1984)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Nesvorný, D., Vokrouhlický, D., Bottke, W. F., Gladman, B. & Häggström, T. Express delivery of fossil meteorites from the inner asteroid belt to Sweden. Icarus 188, 400–413 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Maier, W. D. et al. Discovery of a 25-cm asteroid clast in the giant Morokweng impact crater, South Africa. Nature 441, 203–206 (2006)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Tagle, R. & Hecht, L. Geochemical identification of projectiles in impact rocks. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 41, 1721–1735 (2006)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Rubincam, D. P. Asteroid orbit evolution due to thermal drag. J. Geophys. Res. 100, 1585–1594 (1995)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Bottke, W. F., Rubincam, D. P. & Burns, J. A. Dynamical evolution of main belt meteoroids: Numerical simulations incorporating planetary perturbations and Yarkovsky thermal forces. Science 145, 301–331 (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  19. McFadden, L. A., Gaffey, M. J. & McCord, T. B. Near-earth asteroids — Possible sources from reflectance spectroscopy. Science 229, 160–163 (1985)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Bus, S. J. Compositional Structure in the Asteroid Belt: Results of a Spectroscopic Survey. Thesis, Massachusetts Inst. Technol. (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Pieters, C. M. et al. Space weathering on airless bodies: Resolving a mystery with lunar samples. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 35, 1101–1107 (2000)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Chapman, C. R. Space weathering of asteroid surfaces. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 32, 539–567 (2004)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Binzel, R. P., Bus, S. J., Burbine, T. H. & Sunshine, J. M. Spectral properties of near-Earth asteroids: Evidence for sources of ordinary chondrite meteorites. Science 273, 946–948 (1996)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Sunshine, J. M., Pieters, C. M. & Pratt, S. F. Deconvolution of mineral absorption bands — An improved approach. J. Geophys. Res. 95, 6955–6966 (1990)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Gaffey, M. J. et al. Mineralogical variations within the S-type asteroid class. Icarus 106, 573–602 (1993)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge S. M. Slivan (Wellesley College) for data processing software development. Most data were acquired by the authors operating as Visiting Astronomers at the IRTF, which is operated by the University of Hawaii under cooperative agreement NNX08AE38A with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Planetary Astronomy Program. This Letter is based on work supported by the NSF (grant 0506716) and NASA (grant NAG5-12355). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF or NASA.

Author Contributions P.V. performed the quantitative mineral analysis that solidified the results of this Letter, and led the formulation of possible explanations. C.A.T. provided the quantitative analysis of spectral properties. S.J.B. provided the comparison to the Flora region. R.P.B. and A.T.T. served as principal investigators for a joint observing programme to acquire the near-infrared data. Most data were acquired by R.P.B, S.J.B. and C.A.T., while F.E.D. performed most of the processing. Processing routines were developed by S.J.B., A.S.R. and R.P.B. P.V. and R.P.B. worked jointly to write the Letter. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research and Scientific Support Department, European Space Agency, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands,

    P. Vernazza

  2. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA,

    R. P. Binzel & C. A. Thomas

  3. Laboratoire d’Etudes Spatiales et d’Instrumentation en Astrophysique, Observatoire de Paris, 5 Place Jules Janssen, Meudon, F-92195, France ,

    F. E. DeMeo

  4. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 640 North A’ohoku Place, Hilo, Hawaii 96720, USA ,

    S. J. Bus

  5. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, Maryland 20723, USA ,

    A. S. Rivkin

  6. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA ,

    A. T. Tokunaga

Authors
  1. P. Vernazza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. P. Binzel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. C. A. Thomas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. F. E. DeMeo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. S. J. Bus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. A. S. Rivkin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. A. T. Tokunaga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. Vernazza.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

The file contains Supplementary Notes, Supplementary Discussion, Supplementary Figure 1 and Legend, additional references. (PDF 188 kb)

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Vernazza, P., Binzel, R., Thomas, C. et al. Compositional differences between meteorites and near-Earth asteroids. Nature 454, 858–860 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07154

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07154

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing