David Nesvorny

Delivery of dark material to Vesta via carbonaceous chondritic impacts

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft observations of Asteroid (4) Vesta reveal a surface with the highest albedo and color variation of any asteroid we have observed so far. Terrains rich in low albedo dark material (DM) have been identified using Dawn Framing Camera (FC) 0.75 lm filter images in several geologic settings: associated with impact craters (in the ejecta blanket material and/or on the crater walls and rims); as flow-like deposits or rays commonly associated with topographic highs; and as dark spots (likely secondary impacts) nearby impact craters. This DM could be a relic of ancient volcanic activity or exogenic in origin. We report that the majority of the spectra of DM are similar to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites mixed with materials indigenous to Vesta. Using high-resolution seven color images we compared DM color properties (albedo, band depth) with laboratory measurements of possible analog materials. Band depth and albedo of DM are identical to those of carbonaceous chondrite xenolith-rich howardite Mt. Pratt (PRA) 04401. Laboratory mixtures of Murchison CM2 carbonaceous chondrite and basaltic eucrite Millbillillie also show band depth and albedo affinity to DM. Modeling of carbonaceous chondrite abundance in DM (1–6 vol.%) is consistent with howardite meteorites. We find no evidence for large-scale volcanism (exposed dikes/pyroclastic falls) as the source of DM. Our modeling efforts using impact crater scaling laws and numerical models of ejecta reaccretion suggest the delivery and emplacement of this DM on Vesta during the formation of the � 400 km Veneneia basin by a low-velocity (<2 km/s) carbonaceous impactor. This discovery is important because it strengthens the long-held idea that primitive bodies are the source of carbon and probably volatiles in the early Solar System.

Stochastic Late Accretion to Earth, the Moon, and Mars

For the Love of Iron Iron-loving elements such as Re, Os, Ir, Pt, Rh, Pd, and Au must have been delivered to the upper mantle of Earth, Mars, and the Moon after formation of the planetary cores, because, before that, these elements tended to bond with the cores metallic iron, stripping them from the planetary upper layers. Using Monte Carlo models, Bottke et al. (p. 1527) show that the relative abundances of iron-loving elements on Earth, Mars, and the Moon can be explained if most of the impacting planetesimals that delivered the elements had sizes extending up to several thousand kilometers. In these circumstances, most of the iron-loving elements would arrive in a small number of random impacts, the most massive of which hit Earth but not the Moon. Some of these impacts may also have altered Earths obliquity, produced the Moons orbital inclination, and delivered water to the Moons mantle. Random impacts led to the late delivery of highly siderophile elements (noble metals) during the growth of these bodies. Core formation should have stripped the terrestrial, lunar, and martian mantles of highly siderophile elements (HSEs). Instead, each world has disparate, yet elevated HSE abundances. Late accretion may offer a solution, provided that ≥0.5% Earth masses of broadly chondritic planetesimals reach Earth’s mantle and that ~10 and ~1200 times less mass goes to Mars and the Moon, respectively. We show that leftover planetesimal populations dominated by massive projectiles can explain these additions, with our inferred size distribution matching those derived from the inner asteroid belt, ancient martian impact basins, and planetary accretion models. The largest late terrestrial impactors, at 2500 to 3000 kilometers in diameter, potentially modified Earth’s obliquity by ~10°, whereas those for the Moon, at ~250 to 300 kilometers, may have delivered water to its mantle.

The Distribution of Basaltic Asteroids in the Main Belt

Abstract We present the observational results of a survey designed to target and detect asteroids whose photometric colors are similar to those of Vesta family members and thus may be considered as candidates for having a basaltic composition. Fifty basaltic candidates were selected with orbital elements that lie outside of the Vesta dynamical family. Optical and near-infrared spectra were used to assign a taxonomic type to 11 of the 50 candidates. Ten of these were spectroscopically confirmed as V-type asteroids, suggesting that most of the candidates are basaltic and can be used to constrain the distribution of basaltic material in the Main Belt. Using our catalog of V-type candidates and the success rate of the survey, we calculate unbiased size-frequency and semi-major axis distributions of V-type asteroids. These distributions, in addition to an estimate for the total mass of basaltic material, suggest that Vesta was the predominant contributor to the basaltic asteroid inventory of the Main Belt, however scattered planetesimals from the inner Solar System ( a 2.0 AU ) and other partially/fully differentiated bodies likely contributed to this inventory. In particular, we infer the presence of basaltic fragments in the vicinity of Asteroid 15 Eunomia, which may be derived from a differentiated parent body in the middle Main Belt ( 2.5 a 2.8 ). We find no asteroidal evidence for a large number of previously undiscovered basaltic asteroids, which agrees with previous theories suggesting that basaltic fragments from the ∼100 differentiated parent bodies represented in meteorite collections have been “battered to bits” [Burbine, T.H., Meibom, A., Binzel, R.P., 1996. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 31, 607–620].

Dynamics of pebbles in the vicinity of a growing planetary embryo: hydro-dynamical simulations

Context. Understanding the growth of the cores of giant planets is a difficult problem. Recently, Lambrechts & Johansen (2012, A&A, 544, A32, LJ12) proposed a new model in which the cores grow by the accretion of pebble-size objects, as the latter drift towards the star due to gas drag. Aims. We investigate the dynamics of pebble-size objects in the vicinity of planetary embryos of 1 and 5 Earth masses and the resulting accretion rates. Methods. We use hydrodynamical simulations, in which the embryo influences the dynamics of the gas and the pebbles suffer gas drag according to the local gas density and velocities. Results. The pebble dynamics in the vicinity of the planetary embryo is non-trivial, and it changes significantly with the pebble size. Nevertheless, the accretion rate of the embryo that we measure is within an order of magnitude of the rate estimated in LJ 12 and tends to their value with increasing pebble-size. Conclusions. The model by LJ12 has the potential to explain the rapid growth of giant planet cores. The actual accretion rates however, depend on the surface density of pebble size objects in the disk, which is unknown to date.

Spectroscopy of B-type asteroids: Subgroups and meteorite analogs

[1] B-type asteroids have a negative slope from -0.5 to ∼1.1 μm and beyond. What causes this? Visible to near-infrared reflectance spectra (0.4-2.5 μm) are assembled for 22 B-type asteroids. The spectra fall naturally into three groups: (1) those with negative (blue) spectral shapes like 2 Pallas (7 objects), (2) those with concave curve shapes like 24 Themis (11 objects), and (3) everything else (4 objects). The asteroid spectra are compared to mineral and meteorite spectra from the Reflectance Experiment Laboratory library of 15,000 samples, in a least squares search for particulate analogs, constrained by spectral brightness. The Pallas group objects show a trend of analogs from the CV, CO, and CK meteorite groups. Only three of the seven Pallas-like objects are determined to be dynamically related (2, 1508, and 6411). The Themis group objects show a trend of analogs from the CI, CM, CR, CI-Unusual, and CM-Unusual meteorites (as expected from the work of Hiroi et al. (1996)). Seven of the 11 Themis-like objects are dynamically related (24, 62, 222, 316, 379, 383, and 431). Allowing for reasonable uncertainties in the spectral matches, we find no need to invoke mineralogies that do not exist in the meteorite collection to explain B-type spectra or their negative slopes. Our Themis group results are as expected and are consistent with previous work, but our Pallas group results are new and, in some cases, in conflict with previous work.

Main Belt Binary Asteroidal Systems With Eccentric Mutual Orbits

Using 8m-10m class telescopes and their Adaptive Optics (AO) systems, we conducted a long-term adaptive optics campaign initiated in 2003 focusing on four binary asteroid systems: (130) Elektra, (283) Emma, (379) Huenna, and (3749) Balam. The analysis of these data confirms the presence of their asteroidal satellite. We did not detect any additional satellite around these systems even though we have the capability of detecting a loosely-bound fragment (located at 1/4 x RHill) ~40 times smaller in diameter than the primary. The orbits derived for their satellites display significant eccentricity, ranging from 0.1 to 0.9, suggesting a different origin. Based on AO size estimate, we show that (130) Elektra and (283) Emma, G-type and P-type asteroids respectively, have a significant porosity (30-60% considering CI-CO meteorites as analogs) and their satellites eccentricities (e~0.1) are possibly due to excitation by tidal effects. (379) Huenna and (3749) Balam, two loosely bound binary systems, are most likely formed by mutual capture. (3749) Balams possible high bulk density is similar to (433) Eros, another S-type asteroid, and should be poorly fractured as well. (379) Huenna seems to display both characteristics: the moonlet orbits far away from the primary in term of stability (20% x RHill), but the primarys porosity is significant (30-60%).

Origin of the peculiar eccentricity distribution of the inner cold Kuiper belt

Abstract Dawson and Murray-Clay (Dawson and Murray-Clay [2012]. Astrophys. J., 750, 43) pointed out that the inner part of the cold population in the Kuiper belt (that with semi major axis a 43.5 AU ) has orbital eccentricities significantly smaller than the limit imposed by stability constraints. Here, we confirm their result by looking at the orbital distribution and stability properties in proper element space. We show that the observed distribution could have been produced by the slow sweeping of the 4/7 mean motion resonance with Neptune that accompanied the end of Neptune’s migration process. The orbital distribution of the hot Kuiper belt is not significantly affected in this process, for the reasons discussed in the main text. Therefore, the peculiar eccentricity distribution of the inner cold population cannot be unequivocally interpreted as evidence that the cold population formed in situ and was only moderately excited in eccentricity; it can simply be the signature of Neptune’s radial motion, starting from a moderately eccentric orbit. We discuss how this agrees with a scenario of giant planet evolution following a dynamical instability and, possibly, with the radial transport of the cold population.

Physical characterization of the Karin family

Aims. The Karin cluster is a small asteroid family that formed 5.8±0.2 Myr ago in the outer main belt. This is an exceptionally young age for an asteroid family. To investigate the composition and homogeneity of the members of this family, we started a spectroscopic survey in the visible and in the near-IR. Methods. We observed 24 Karin asteroid members in the visible and 6 members in the near-IR. Results. In the visible range, all the objects share the same characteristics: a maximum around λ = 0.75 μm, and a spectral slope spanning a continuous but limited range; in the NIR, our spectra show a similar behaviour. Our results suggest global homogeneity of the parent body and none of the investigated objects seems to be an interloper. These results are consistent with the dynamical hypothesis of a common origin. Finally, the range of spectral slopes is similar with the range of slopes for OC meteorites.We interpret this result as an indication of a low degree of spatial alteration for the observed surfaces. This result is coherent with the young age of the family.

EVOLUTION OF DUST TRAILS INTO BANDS

We use numerical simulations to investigate the production of dust trails by asteroid disruption events. Our work shows that asteroid trails evolve into pairs of dust bands over time. Coherent trails typically survive several tens of kyr before evolving into complete bands after ~1 Myr. The transition timescale depends sensitively on the location of the source breakup event in the main asteroid belt. Bands develop more efficiently from sources in the middle/outer belt than in the inner belt, which may not produce observable pairs of bands at all. The infrared structures produced by recent disruption events (<1 Myr) are characterized by a complicated and changing set of incomplete arcs and cusps. Their geometry depends both on the observers position and on the sources location in terms of heliocentric distance and inclination to the ecliptic. We postulate that the broad orphan trails named C and D by Sykes in 1988 might have been produced by the formation of the Datura asteroid family 450 ± 50 kyr ago. Additional work will be needed to test this link.

Spectral variability on primitive asteroids of the Themis and Beagle families: Space weathering effects or parent body heterogeneity?

Themis is an old and statistically robust asteroid family populating the outer main belt, and resulting from a catastrophic collision that took place 2.5 ± 1.0 Gyr ago. Within the old Themis family a young sub-family, Beagle, formed less than 10 Myr ago, has been identified. We present the results of a spectroscopic survey in the visible and near infrared range of 22 Themis and 8 Beagle families members. The Themis members investigated exhibit a wide range of spectral behaviors, including asteroids with blue/neutral and moderately red spectra, while the younger Beagle family members look spectrally bluer than the Themis ones and they have a much smaller spectral slope variability. Four Themis members, including (24) Themis, have absorption bands centered at 0.68–0.73 μμm indicating the presence of aqueously altered minerals. The best meteorite spectral analogues found for both Themis and Beagle families members are carbonaceous chondrites having experienced different degrees of aqueous alteration, prevalently CM2 but also CV3 and CI, and some of them are chondrite samples being unusual or heated. The presence of aqueous altered materials on the asteroids surfaces and the meteorite matches indicate that the parent body of the Themis family experienced mild thermal metamorphism in the past.We extended the spectral analysis including the data available in the literature on Themis and Beagle families members, and we looked for correlations between spectral behavior and physical parameters using the albedo and size values derived from the WISE data. The analysis of this larger sample confirms the spectral diversity within the Themis family and that Beagle members tend to be bluer and to have an higher albedo. The differences between the two families may be partially explained by space weathering processes, which act on these primitive surfaces in a similar way than on S-type asteroids, i.e. producing reddening and darkening. However we see several Themis members having albedos and spectral slopes similar to the young Beagle members. Alternative scenarios are proposed including heterogeneity in the parent body having a compositional gradient with depth, and/or the survival of projectile fragments having a different composition than the parent body.