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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
general
The impact and recovery of asteroid 2008 TC
3
Nature, Volume 458, No. 7237, Year 2009
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Description
In the absence of a firm link between individual meteorites and their asteroidal parent bodies, asteroids are typically characterized only by their light reflection properties, and grouped accordingly into classes. On 6 October 2008, a small asteroid was discovered with a flat reflectance spectrum in the 554-995 nm wavelength range, and designated 2008 TC 3 (refs 4-6). It subsequently hit the Earth. Because it exploded at 37 km altitude, no macroscopic fragments were expected to survive. Here we report that a dedicated search along the approach trajectory recovered 47 meteorites, fragments of a single body named Almahata Sitta, with a total mass of 3.95 kg. Analysis of one of these meteorites shows it to be an achondrite, a polymict ureilite, anomalous in its class: ultra-fine-grained and porous, with large carbonaceous grains. The combined asteroid and meteorite reflectance spectra identify the asteroid as F class, now firmly linked to dark carbon-rich anomalous ureilites, a material so fragile it was not previously represented in meteorite collections. © 2009 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Jenniskens, Peter M.M.
United States, Mountain View
Seti Institute
Shaddad, Muawia H.
Sudan, Khartoum
Khartoum University
Numan, Diyaa
Sudan, Khartoum
Khartoum University
Elsir, Saadia
South Sudan, Juba
University of Juba
Kudoda, Ayman M.
Sudan, Khartoum
Khartoum University
Zolensky, Michael Ewing
United States, Houston
Nasa Johnson Space Center
Le, Loan
United States, Houston
Nasa Johnson Space Center
United States, Tullahoma
Jacobs Technology Inc.
Robinson, Georg Ann
United States, Houston
Nasa Johnson Space Center
United States, Tullahoma
Jacobs Technology Inc.
Friedrich, Jon M.
United States, New York
Fordham University
United States, New York
American Museum of Natural History
Rumble, Douglas
United States, Washington, D.c.
Carnegie Institution of Washington
Steele, Andrew
United States, Washington, D.c.
Carnegie Institution of Washington
Chesley, Steven R.
United States, Pasadena
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Alan Fitzsimmons, Alan
United Kingdom, Belfast
Queen's University Belfast
Duddy, S.
United Kingdom, Belfast
Queen's University Belfast
Hsieh, Henry H.
United Kingdom, Belfast
Queen's University Belfast
Ramsay, Gavin
United Kingdom, Armagh
Armagh Observatory
Brown, Peter G.
Canada, London
Western University
Edwards, Wayne N.
Canada, London
Western University
Tagliaferri, E.
United States, Camarillo
Et Space Systems
Boslough, M. B.
United States, Albuquerque
Sandia National Laboratories, new Mexico
Spalding, R. E.
United States, Albuquerque
Sandia National Laboratories, new Mexico
Dantowitz, R.
United States, Brookline
Clay Center Observatory
Kozubal, M.
United States, Brookline
Clay Center Observatory
Pravec, Petr
Czech Republic, Ondrejov
Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic V.v.i.
Borovicka, J.
Czech Republic, Ondrejov
Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic V.v.i.
Charvat, Z.
Czech Republic, Prague
Czech Hydrometeorological Institute
Vaubaillon, Jerermie J.
France, Paris
Institut de Mecanique Celeste et de Calcul Des Ephemerides
Kuiper, Jacob
Netherlands, De Bilt
Dutch Meteor Society
Albers, Jim
United States, Mountain View
Seti Institute
Bishop, Janice L.
United States, Mountain View
Seti Institute
Mancinelli, Rocco L.
United States, Mountain View
Seti Institute
Sandford, Scott A.
United States, Moffett Field
Nasa Ames Research Center
Milam, Stefanie N.
United States, Moffett Field
Nasa Ames Research Center
Nuevo, M.
United States, Moffett Field
Nasa Ames Research Center
Worden, Simon Pete
United States, Moffett Field
Nasa Ames Research Center
Statistics
Citations: 318
Authors: 35
Affiliations: 20
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1038/nature07920
ISSN:
00280836
e-ISSN:
14764687
Research Areas
Environmental