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van Kooten E, Zhao X, Franchi I, Tung PY, Fairclough S, Walmsley J, Onyett I, Schiller M, Bizzarro M. The nucleosynthetic fingerprint of the outermost protoplanetary disk and early Solar System dynamics. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadp1613. [PMID: 38875339 PMCID: PMC11177941 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adp1613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024]
Abstract
Knowledge of the nucleosynthetic isotope composition of the outermost protoplanetary disk is critical to understand the formation and early dynamical evolution of the Solar System. We report the discovery of outer disk material preserved in a pristine meteorite based on its chemical composition, organic-rich petrology, and 15N-rich, deuterium-rich, and 16O-poor isotope signatures. We infer that this outer disk material originated in the comet-forming region. The nucleosynthetic Fe, Mg, Si, and Cr compositions of this material reveal that, contrary to current belief, the isotope signature of the comet-forming region is ubiquitous among outer Solar System bodies, possibly reflecting an important planetary building block in the outer Solar System. This nucleosynthetic component represents fresh material added to the outer disk by late accretion streamers connected to the ambient molecular cloud. Our results show that most Solar System carbonaceous asteroids accreted material from the comet-forming region, a signature lacking in the terrestrial planet region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elishevah van Kooten
- Centre for Star and Planet Formation, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Xuchao Zhao
- School of Physical Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
| | - Ian Franchi
- School of Physical Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
| | - Po-Yen Tung
- Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, CB3 0FS Cambridge, UK
| | - Simon Fairclough
- Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, CB3 0FS Cambridge, UK
| | - John Walmsley
- Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, CB3 0FS Cambridge, UK
| | - Isaac Onyett
- Centre for Star and Planet Formation, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Martin Schiller
- Centre for Star and Planet Formation, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Martin Bizzarro
- Centre for Star and Planet Formation, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris Cité, 1 Rue Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
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Kempf S, Altobelli N, Schmidt J, Cuzzi JN, Estrada PR, Srama R. Micrometeoroid infall onto Saturn's rings constrains their age to no more than a few hundred million years. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf8537. [PMID: 37172091 PMCID: PMC10181170 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf8537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
There is ongoing debate as to whether Saturn's main rings are relatively young or ancient- having been formed shortly after Saturn or during the Late Heavy Bombardment. The rings are mostly water-ice but are polluted by non-icy material with a volume fraction ranging from ∼0.1 to 2%. Continuous bombardment by micrometeoroids exogenic to the Saturnian system is a source of this non-icy material. Knowledge of the incoming mass flux of these pollutants allows estimation of the rings' exposure time, providing a limit on their age. Here we report the final measurements by Cassini's Cosmic Dust Analyzer of the micrometeoroid flux into the Saturnian system. Several populations are present, but the flux is dominated by low-relative velocity objects such as from the Kuiper belt. We find a mass flux between 6.9 · 10-17 and 2.7 · 10-16 kg m-2s-1 from which we infer a ring exposure time ≲100 to 400 million years in support of recent ring formation scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sascha Kempf
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | | | - Jürgen Schmidt
- Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Space Physics and Astronomy Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Jeffrey N Cuzzi
- Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - Paul R Estrada
- Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - Ralf Srama
- Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme, Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
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Gainsforth Z, Westphal AJ, Butterworth AL, Jilly-Rehak CE, Brownlee DE, Joswiak D, Ogliore RC, Zolensky ME, Bechtel HA, Ebel DS, Huss GR, Sandford SA, White AJ. Fine-grained Material Associated with a Large Sulfide returned from Comet 81P/Wild 2. METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE 2019; 54:1069-1091. [PMID: 31080342 PMCID: PMC6505703 DOI: 10.1111/maps.13265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 01/27/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
In a consortium analysis of a large particle captured from the coma of comet 81P/Wild 2 by the Stardust spacecraft, we report the discovery of a field of fine-grained material (FGM) in contact with a large sulfide particle. The FGM was partially located in an embayment in the sulfide. As a consequence, some of the FGM appears to have been protected from damage during hypervelocity capture in aerogel. Some of the FGM particles are indistinguishable in their characteristics from common components of chondritic-porous interplanetary dust particles (CP-IDPs), including glass with embedded metals and sulfides (GEMS) and equilibrated aggregates (EAs). The sulfide exhibits surprising Ni-rich lamellae, which may indicate that this particle experienced a long-duration heating event after its formation but before incorporation into Wild 2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z. Gainsforth
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - A. J. Westphal
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - A. L. Butterworth
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - C. E. Jilly-Rehak
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - D. E. Brownlee
- Dept. of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - D. Joswiak
- Dept. of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - R. C. Ogliore
- Department of Physics, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63117
| | | | - H. A. Bechtel
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - D. S. Ebel
- Dept. Earth Planet. Sci., American Museum Natural History, NY, NY 10024
| | - G. R. Huss
- University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822
| | | | - A. J. White
- Dept. Astro. and Planet. Sci., University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309
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Ishii HA. Comparison of GEMS in Interplanetary Dust Particles and GEMS-like Objects in a Stardust Impact Track in Aerogel. METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE 2019; 54:202-219. [PMID: 30713419 PMCID: PMC6350812 DOI: 10.1111/maps.13182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/06/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Comet 81P/Wild 2 dust, the first comet sample of known provenance, was widely expected to resemble anhydrous chondritic porous (CP) interplanetary dust particles (IDPs). GEMS, distinctly characteristic of CP IDPs, have yet to be unambiguously identified in the Stardust mission samples despite claims of likely candidates. One such candidate is Stardust impact track 57 "Febo" in aerogel, which contains fine-grained objects texturally and compositionally similar to GEMS. Their position adjacent the terminal particle suggests that they may be indigenous, fine-grained, cometary material, like that in CP IDPs, shielded by the terminal particle from damage during deceleration from hypervelocity. Darkfield imaging and multi-detector energy-dispersive x-ray mapping were used to compare GEMS-like-objects in the Febo terminal particle with GEMS in an anhydrous, chondritic IDP. GEMS in the IDP are within 3× CI (solar) abundances for major and minor elements. In the Febo GEMS-like objects, Mg and Ca are systematically and strongly depleted relative to CI; S and Fe are somewhat enriched; and Au, a known aerogel contaminant is present, consistent with ablation, melting, abrasion and mixing of the SiOx aerogel with crystalline Fe-sulfide and minor enstatite, high-Ni sulfide and augite identified by elemental mapping in the terminal particle. Thus, GEMS-like objects in "caches" of fine-grained debris abutting terminal particles are most likely deceleration debris packed in place during particle transit through the aerogel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hope A Ishii
- Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
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On the Chemical Composition and Possible Origin of Na–Cr-Rich Clinopyroxene in Silicocarbonatites from Samalpatti, Tamil Nadu, South India. MINERALS 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/min8080355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Mineralogical and chemical data are presented for a suite of Na–Cr-rich clinopyroxenes associated with chromite, winchite (sodium-calcium amphibole), titanite and calcite in Mg-Cr-rich silicocarbonatites from the Samalpatti carbonatite complex, Tamil Nadu, South India. The Mg-Cr-rich silicocarbonatites occur as 10–30 cm large enclaves in pyroxenites. The chemical composition of the pyroxenes differs among individual enclaves, with variable proportions of diopside, kosmochlor and jadeite-aegirine end-members. These compositions fill a previously unoccupied space in the kosmochlor-diopside-jadeite+aegirine ternary plot, indicating a distinct origin of kosmochlor-rich pyroxene compared with previous findings from diverse settings. The Na–Cr-rich clinopyroxene has low ΣREE = 9.2 ppm, with slight enrichment in LREE (LaN = 7), coupled with low HREE (YbN = 0.6), and flat HREE, paralleled by a significant fractionation of Nb/Ta (2408) and Th/U (26.5). Sodic metasomatism (fenitization) associated with either carbonatite emplacement at shallow levels or during carbonatite ascent through the upper mantle most likely was the major process operating in the area. We suggest two scenarios of the formation of Na–Cr-rich pyroxene: (1) from mantle-derived chromian mineral phases (spinel and/or garnet) through fenitization, with subsequent corrosion by growing winchite due to volatile influx; (2) via metasomatic reaction of Cr-rich garnet in mantle peridotite due to reaction with Na-rich carbonatite melt. Collectively, the appearance of kosmochlor may play an important role in deconvolving metasomatic processes, and fenitization in particular. If combined with petrologic experiments, it could improve our understanding of the origin and subsequent history of chemical signatures of carbonate-rich materials in the mantle.
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Levasseur-Regourd AC, Agarwal J, Cottin H, Engrand C, Flynn G, Fulle M, Gombosi T, Langevin Y, Lasue J, Mannel T, Merouane S, Poch O, Thomas N, Westphal A. Cometary Dust. SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS 2018; 214:64. [PMID: 35095119 PMCID: PMC8793767 DOI: 10.1007/s11214-018-0496-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2017] [Accepted: 03/16/2018] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
This review presents our understanding of cometary dust at the end of 2017. For decades, insight about the dust ejected by nuclei of comets had stemmed from remote observations from Earth or Earth's orbit, and from flybys, including the samples of dust returned to Earth for laboratory studies by the Stardust return capsule. The long-duration Rosetta mission has recently provided a huge and unique amount of data, obtained using numerous instruments, including innovative dust instruments, over a wide range of distances from the Sun and from the nucleus. The diverse approaches available to study dust in comets, together with the related theoretical and experimental studies, provide evidence of the composition and physical properties of dust particles, e.g., the presence of a large fraction of carbon in macromolecules, and of aggregates on a wide range of scales. The results have opened vivid discussions on the variety of dust-release processes and on the diversity of dust properties in comets, as well as on the formation of cometary dust, and on its presence in the near-Earth interplanetary medium. These discussions stress the significance of future explorations as a way to decipher the formation and evolution of our Solar System.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anny-Chantal Levasseur-Regourd
- Sorbonne Université; UVSQ; CNRS/INSU; Campus Pierre et Marie Curie, BC 102, 4 place Jussieu, F-75005 Paris, France, Tel.: + 33 144274875,
| | - Jessica Agarwal
- Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg, 3, D-37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Hervé Cottin
- Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), UMR CNRS 7583, Université Paris-Est Créteil et Université Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, 94000 Créteil, France
| | - Cécile Engrand
- Centre de Sciences Nucléaires et de Sciences de la Matière (CSNSM), CNRS/IN2P3 Université Paris Sud - UMR 8609, Université Paris-Saclay, Bâtiment 104, 91405 Orsay Campus, France
| | - George Flynn
- SUNY-Plattsburgh, 101 Broad St, Plattsburgh, NY 12901, United States
| | - Marco Fulle
- INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico, Via Tiepolo 11, 34143 Trieste Italy
| | - Tamas Gombosi
- Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Yves Langevin
- Institut dAstrophysique Spatiale (IAS), CNRS/Université Paris Sud, Bâtiment 121, 91405 Orsay France
| | - Jérémie Lasue
- IRAP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, CNES, Toulouse, France
| | - Thurid Mannel
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Schmiedlstrasse 6, 8042 Graz, Austria; Physics Institute, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 5, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Sihane Merouane
- Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg, 3, D-37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Olivier Poch
- Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Nicolas Thomas
- Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrew Westphal
- Space Sciences Laboratory, U.C. Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-7450 USA
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Hsieh HH. Asteroid-comet continuum objects in the solar system. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2017; 375:rsta.2016.0259. [PMID: 28554978 PMCID: PMC5454227 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2016.0259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/10/2016] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
In this review presented at the Royal Society meeting, 'Cometary science after Rosetta', I present an overview of studies of small solar system objects that exhibit properties of both asteroids and comets (with a focus on so-called active asteroids). Sometimes referred to as 'transition objects', these bodies are perhaps more appropriately described as 'continuum objects', to reflect the notion that rather than necessarily representing actual transitional evolutionary states between asteroids and comets, they simply belong to the general population of small solar system bodies that happen to exhibit a continuous range of observational, physical and dynamical properties. Continuum objects are intriguing because they possess many of the properties that make classical comets interesting to study (e.g. relatively primitive compositions, ejection of surface and subsurface material into space where it can be more easily studied, and orbital properties that allow us to sample material from distant parts of the solar system that would otherwise be inaccessible), while allowing us to study regions of the solar system that are not sampled by classical comets.This article is part of the themed issue 'Cometary science after Rosetta'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry H Hsieh
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, PO Box 23-141, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
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Jones GH, Knight MM, Fitzsimmons A, Taylor MGGT. Cometary science after Rosetta. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2017; 375:rsta.2017.0001. [PMID: 28554982 PMCID: PMC5454231 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2017.0001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/20/2017] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission ended operations on 30 September 2016 having spent over 2 years in close proximity to its target comet, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Shortly before this, in summer 2016, a discussion meeting was held to examine how the results of the mission could be framed in terms of cometary and solar system science in general. This paper provides a brief history of the Rosetta mission, and gives an overview of the meeting and the contents of this associated special issue.This article is part of the themed issue 'Cometary science after Rosetta'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geraint H Jones
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, Surrey, UK
- The Centre for Planetary Sciences at UCL/Birkbeck, Gower Street, London, UK
| | | | - Alan Fitzsimmons
- Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
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A'Hearn MF. Comets: looking ahead. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2017; 375:rsta.2016.0261. [PMID: 28554980 PMCID: PMC5454229 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2016.0261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/06/2016] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
We outline the key questions about comets that must be answered in order to understand cometary formation in the context of the protoplanetary disc and the role of comets in the formation and evolution of the solar system. We then discuss the new understanding of comets from Rosetta and from other recent advances, including work presented by others at the discussion meeting. Finally, we suggest some key directions for future projects to better address the above questions.This article is part of the themed issue 'Cometary science after Rosetta'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael F A'Hearn
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421, USA
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