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An international research team, including scientists from the CNRS, the European Southern Observatory, and Charles University, has traced the origins of 70% of known meteorite falls to three asteroid families in the main asteroid belt. These families - Karin, Koronis, and Massalia - were formed by collisions occurring 5.8, 7.5, and around 40 million years ago. The new findings, which have identi by Erica Marchand
Paris, France (SPX) Oct 17, 2024
An international research team, including scientists from the CNRS, the European Southern Observatory, and Charles University, has traced the origins of 70% of known meteorite falls to three asteroid families in the main asteroid belt. These families - Karin, Koronis, and Massalia - were formed by collisions occurring 5.8, 7.5, and around 40 million years ago. The new findings, which have identified the origins of over 90% of all meteorites, are published in three scientific papers, the first released on September 13, 2024, in *Astronomy and Astrophysics*, and two others published on October 16, 2024, in *Nature*.
The Massalia family stands out as the source for 37% of known meteorites. Although over 70,000 meteorites have been documented, only 6% had been previously traced to specific sources like the Moon, Mars, or the large asteroid Vesta. The new research sheds light on the origins of the remaining 94%, most of which are ordinary chondrites.
The researchers explained that younger asteroid families are prolific meteorite sources due to their many small fragments, which have higher chances of collision and escape from the asteroid belt toward Earth. In contrast, older families have lost much of their smaller debris over time due to continuous collisions, leaving fewer fragments available to become meteorites.
A comprehensive telescopic survey and computer simulations enabled the researchers to trace the evolutionary history of these asteroid families and identify primary sources of meteorites, including carbonaceous chondrites and achondrites. This work has also linked kilometre-sized asteroids, some of which pose potential threats to Earth, to specific asteroid families. For example, Ryugu and Bennu, recently studied by the Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx missions, originate from the Polana family's parent asteroid.
While the origins of 90% of meteorites are now known, the team will continue investigating younger asteroid families formed within the last 50 million years to account for the remaining 10%.
Research Report:Source regions of carbonaceous meteorites and near-Earth objects
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