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Jenniskens P, Gabadirwe M, Yin QZ, Proyer A, Moses O, Kohout T, Franchi F, Gibson RL, Kowalski R, Christensen EJ, Gibbs AR, Heinze A, Denneau L, Farnocchia D, Chodas PW, Gray W, Micheli M, Moskovitz N, Onken CA, Wolf C, Devillepoix HAR, Ye Q, Robertson DK, Brown P, Lyytinen E, Moilanen J, Albers J, Cooper T, Assink J, Evers L, Lahtinen P, Seitshiro L, Laubenstein M, Wantlo N, Moleje P, Maritinkole J, Suhonen H, Zolensky ME, Ashwal L, Hiroi T, Sears DW, Sehlke A, Maturilli A, Sanborn ME, Huyskens MH, Dey S, Ziegler K, Busemann H, Riebe MEI, Meier MMM, Welten KC, Caffee MW, Zhou Q, Li QL, Li XH, Liu Y, Tang GQ, McLain HL, Dworkin JP, Glavin DP, Schmitt-Kopplin P, Sabbah H, Joblin C, Granvik M, Mosarwa B, Botepe K. The impact and recovery of asteroid 2018 LA. METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE 2021; 56:844-893. [PMID: 34295141 PMCID: PMC7611328 DOI: 10.1111/maps.13653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The June 2, 2018, impact of asteroid 2018 LA over Botswana is only the second asteroid detected in space prior to impacting over land. Here, we report on the successful recovery of meteorites. Additional astrometric data refine the approach orbit and define the spin period and shape of the asteroid. Video observations of the fireball constrain the asteroid's position in its orbit and were used to triangulate the location of the fireball's main flare over the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. 23 meteorites were recovered. A consortium study of eight of these classifies Motopi Pan as a HED polymict breccia derived from howardite, cumulate and basaltic eucrite, and diogenite lithologies. Before impact, 2018 LA was a solid rock of ~156 cm diameter with high bulk density ~2.85 g/cm3, a relatively low albedo pv ~ 0.25, no significant opposition effect on the asteroid brightness, and an impact kinetic energy of ~0.2 kt. The orbit of 2018 LA is consistent with an origin at Vesta (or its Vestoids) and delivery into an Earth-impacting orbit via the v6 resonance. The impact that ejected 2018 LA in an orbit towards Earth occurred 22.8 ± 3.8 Ma ago. Zircons record a concordant U-Pb age of 4563 ± 11 Ma and a consistent 207Pb/206Pb age of 4563 ± 6 Ma. A much younger Pb-Pb phosphate resetting age of 4234 ± 41 Ma was found. From this impact chronology, we discuss what is the possible source crater of Motopi Pan and the age of Vesta's Veneneia impact basin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Jenniskens
- SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - Mohutsiwa Gabadirwe
- Botswana Geoscience Institute, Plot 11566, Khama 1 Avenue, Private Bag 0014, Lobatse, Botswana
| | - Qing-Zhu Yin
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, CA 95616, USA
| | - Alexander Proyer
- Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana
| | - Oliver Moses
- University of Botswana, Okavango Research Institute, Private Bag 285, Maun, Botswana
| | - Tomas Kohout
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, P. O. Box 64, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Ursa Finnish Fireball Network, Kopernikuksentie 1, FI-00130 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Fulvio Franchi
- Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana
| | - Roger L. Gibson
- School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, P.O. WITS, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
| | - Richard Kowalski
- Catalina Sky Survey, Lunar & Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona, 1629 E University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Eric J. Christensen
- Catalina Sky Survey, Lunar & Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona, 1629 E University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Alex R. Gibbs
- Catalina Sky Survey, Lunar & Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona, 1629 E University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Aren Heinze
- ATLAS, Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822-1839, USA
| | - Larry Denneau
- ATLAS, Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822-1839, USA
| | - Davide Farnocchia
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - Paul W. Chodas
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - William Gray
- Project Pluto, 168 Ridge Road, Bowdoinham, ME 04008, USA
| | - Marco Micheli
- ESA NEO Coordination Centre, Largo Galileo Galilei 1, I-00044, Frascati, Italy
| | - Nick Moskovitz
- Lowell Observatory, 1400 W. Mars Hill Rd., Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA
| | - Christopher A. Onken
- Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2611, Australia
| | - Christian Wolf
- Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2611, Australia
| | | | - Quanzhi Ye
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Darrel K. Robertson
- NASA Ames Research Center, Asteroid Threat Assessment Project, Mail Stop 239-1, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - Peter Brown
- Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Esko Lyytinen
- Ursa Finnish Fireball Network, Kopernikuksentie 1, FI-00130 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jarmo Moilanen
- Ursa Finnish Fireball Network, Kopernikuksentie 1, FI-00130 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jim Albers
- SETI Institute, 189 Bernardo Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - Tim Cooper
- Astronomical Society of Southern Africa, Suite 617, Private Bag X043, Benoni 1500, South Africa
| | - Jelle Assink
- Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute, R&D Seismology and Acoustics, P. O. Box 201, NL-3730 AE De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - Läslo Evers
- Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute, R&D Seismology and Acoustics, P. O. Box 201, NL-3730 AE De Bilt, The Netherlands
- Delft University of Technology, Department of Geoscience and Engineering, P. O. Box 5048, NL-2600 GA Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Panu Lahtinen
- Ursa Finnish Fireball Network, Kopernikuksentie 1, FI-00130 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Lesedi Seitshiro
- Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana
| | - Matthias Laubenstein
- Gran Sasso National Laboratory, National Institute for Nuclear Physics, Via G. Acitelli 22, I-67100 Assergi, Italy
| | - Nggie Wantlo
- Botswana Geoscience Institute, Plot 11566, Khama 1 Avenue, Private Bag 0014, Lobatse, Botswana
| | - Phemo Moleje
- Botswana Geoscience Institute, Plot 11566, Khama 1 Avenue, Private Bag 0014, Lobatse, Botswana
| | - Joseph Maritinkole
- Botswana Geoscience Institute, Plot 11566, Khama 1 Avenue, Private Bag 0014, Lobatse, Botswana
| | - Heikki Suhonen
- University of Helsinki, Department of Physics, P. O. Box 64, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Lewis Ashwal
- School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, P.O. WITS, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
| | - Takahiro Hiroi
- Brown University, Reflectance Experiment Laboratory, Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Science, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Derek W. Sears
- NASA Ames Research Center / Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, Mail Stop 245-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - Alexander Sehlke
- NASA Ames Research Center / Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, Mail Stop 245-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - Alessandro Maturilli
- Institute for Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center DLR, Rutherfordstrasse 2, D-12489 Berlin-Adlershof, Germany
| | - Matthew E. Sanborn
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, CA 95616, USA
| | - Magdalena H. Huyskens
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, CA 95616, USA
| | - Supratim Dey
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, CA 95616, USA
| | - Karen Ziegler
- University of New Mexico, Institute of Meteoritics, 221 Yale Blvd NE, 331 Northrop Hall, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Henner Busemann
- Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zürich, Clausiusstrasse 25, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - My E. I. Riebe
- Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zürich, Clausiusstrasse 25, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Matthias M. M. Meier
- Naturmuseum St. Gallen, Rorschacher Strasse 263, CH-9016 St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Kees C. Welten
- University of California Berkeley, Space Science Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Marc W. Caffee
- Purdue University, Dept. Physics and Astronomy, 525 Northwestern Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Qin Zhou
- National Astronomical Observatories, Beijing, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Qiu-Li Li
- National Astronomical Observatories, Beijing, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Xian-Hua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Yu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Guo-Qiang Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Hannah L. McLain
- Catholic University of America, Department of Chemistry, 620 Michigan Ave, N.E., Washington, DC 20064, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - Jason P. Dworkin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - Daniel P. Glavin
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin
- Helmholtz Zentrum München, Research Unit Analytical BioGeoChemistry, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, D-85764 Neuherberg, Germany
- Technische Universität München, Analytical Food Chemistry, D-85354 Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany
| | - Hassan Sabbah
- IRAP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, CNES, Université de Toulouse (UPS), F-31028 Toulouse Cedex 4, France
| | | | - Mikael Granvik
- University of Helsinki, Department of Physics, P. O. Box 64, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Asteroid Engineering Laboratory, Onboard Space Systems, Lulea University of Technology, Box 848, S-981 28 Kiruna, Sweden
| | - Babutsi Mosarwa
- Botswana National Museum, 161 Queens Rd., Gaborone, Botswana
| | - Koketso Botepe
- Botswana Geoscience Institute, Plot 11566, Khama 1 Avenue, Private Bag 0014, Lobatse, Botswana
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