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Vesta's Melted Cosmic Spherules: Clues from Antarctic Collectibles

Explore the cosmic spherules melted upon entry to Earth, revealing connections to asteroid Vesta. Discover how Fe/Mn and Fe/Mg ratios distinguish chondrites from achondrites, with some achondritic spherules resembling HED basaltic meteorites. Learn how the reflectance spectra of HEDs align with asteroid 4 Vesta, suggesting these spherules could be remnants from Vesta's surface. Visit www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Sept07/cosmicSpherules.html

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Vesta's Melted Cosmic Spherules: Clues from Antarctic Collectibles

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  1. Melted Crumbs from Asteroid Vesta • Cosmic spherules are micrometeorites that melted when they plunged through Earth’s atmosphere. • Thousands have been collected from Antarctic ice. www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Sept07/cosmicSpherules.html

  2. Melted Crumbs from Asteroid Vesta • Fe/Mn and Fe/Mg ratios distinguish chondrites (shaded region) from 7 achondrites (blue points) • The achondritic cosmic spherules plot near the dashed line for values typical of HED (basaltic) meteorites • Plagioclase in one of the achondritic cosmic spherules has similar composition to that in HEDs www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Sept07/cosmicSpherules.html

  3. Melted Crumbs from Asteroid Vesta • The HEDs have reflectance spectra that match spectra from asteroid 4 Vesta, implying Vesta is their parent body. • Thus, these cosmic spherules may be crumbs from Vesta. www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Sept07/cosmicSpherules.html

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