Mineralogical Characterization of Baptistina Asteroid Family: Implications for K/T Impactor Source

Bottke et al. (2007) linked the catastrophic formation of Baptistina Asteroid Family (BAF) to the K/T impact event. This linkage was based on dynamical and compositional evidence, which suggested the impactor had a composition similar to CM2 carbonaceous chondrites. However, our recent study (Reddy et al. 2009) suggests that the composition of (298) Baptistina is similar to LL-type ordinary chondrites rather than CM2 carbonaceous chondrites. This rules out any possibility of it being related to the source of the K/T impactor, if the impactor was of CM-type composition. Mineralogical study of asteroids in the vicinity of BAF has revealed a plethora of compositional types suggesting a complex formation and evolution environment. A detailed compositional analysis of 16 asteroids suggests several distinct surface assemblages including ordinary chondrites (Gaffey SIV subtype), primitive achondrites (Gaffey SIII subtype), basaltic achondrites (Gaffey SVII subtype and V-type), and a carbonaceous chondrite. Based on our mineralogical analysis we conclude that (298) Baptistina is similar to ordinary chondrites (LL-type) based on olivine and pyroxene mineralogy and moderate albedo. S-type and V-type in and around the vicinity of BAF we characterized show mineralogical affinity to (8) Flora and (4) Vesta and could be part of their families. Smaller BAF asteroids with lower SNR spectra showing only a 'single' band are compositionally similar to (298) Baptistina and L/LL chondrites. It is unclear at this point why the silicate absorption bands in spectra of asteroids with formal family definition seem suppressed relative to background population, despite having similar mineralogy

The Origin and Significance of Reverse Zoning in Melilite from Allende Type B Inclusions

In many Type B Allende inclusions, melilite is reversely-zoned over restricted portions of each crystal. Textural relationships and the results of dynamic crystallization experiments suggest that the reverselyzoned intervals in these Type melilites result from the co-precipitation of melilite with clinopyroxene from a melt, prior to the onset of anorthite precipitation. When clinopyroxene begins to precipitate, the Al/Mg ratio of the melt rises, causing the crystallizing melilite to become more gehlenitic, an effect which is negated by crystallization of anorthite. Because the equilibrium crystallization sequence in these liquids is anorthite before pyroxene, melilite reverse zoning can occur only when anorthite nucleation is suppressed relative to pyroxene. This has been achieved in our experiments at cooling rates as low as 0.5°C/hour. Our experiments further indicate, however, that reverse zoning does not form at cooling rates ≥50°C/hour , probably because the clinopyroxene becomes too Al-rich to drive up the Al/Mg ratio of the liquid. Type inclusions with reversely-zoned melilites must have cooled at rates greater than those at which anorthite begins to crystallize before clinopyroxene but <50°C/hour. Such rates are far too slow for the Type droplets to have cooled by radiation into a nebular gas but are much faster than the cooling rate of the solar nebula itself. One possibility is that Type B's formed in local hot regions within the nebula, where their cooling rate was equal to that of their surrounding gas. Other possibilities are that their cooling rates reflect their movement along nebular temperature gradients or the influence of a heat source. The sun or viscous drag on inclusions as they moved through the nebular gas are potential candidates for such heat sources

Laboratory mid-IR spectra of equilibrated and igneous meteorites. Searching for observables of planetesimal debris

Meteorites contain minerals from Solar System asteroids with different properties (like size, presence of water, core formation). We provide new mid-IR transmission spectra of powdered meteorites to obtain templates of how mid-IR spectra of asteroidal debris would look like. This is essential for interpreting mid-IR spectra of past and future space observatories, like the James Webb Space Telescope. We show that the transmission spectra of wet and dry chondrites, carbonaceous and ordinary chondrites and achondrite and chondrite meteorites are distinctly different in a way one can distinguish in astronomical mid-IR spectra. The two observables that spectroscopically separate the different meteorites groups (and thus the different types of parent bodies) are the pyroxene-olivine feature strength ratio and the peak shift of the olivine spectral features due to an increase in the iron concentration of the olivine

A Tale of Three Galaxies: Deciphering the Infrared Emission of the Spectroscopically Anomalous Galaxies IRAS F10398+1455, IRAS F21013-0739 and SDSS J0808+3948

The \textit{Spitzer}/Infrared Spectrograph spectra of three spectroscopically anomalous galaxies (IRAS~F10398+1455, IRAS~F21013-0739 and SDSS~J0808+3948) are modeled in terms of a mixture of warm and cold silicate dust, and warm and cold carbon dust. Their unique infrared (IR) emission spectra are characterized by a steep \simali5--8\mum emission continuum, strong emission bands from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules, and prominent silicate emission. The steep \simali5--8\mum emission continuum and strong PAH emission features suggest the dominance of starbursts, while the silicate emission is indicative of significant heating from active galactic nuclei (AGNs). With warm and cold silicate dust of various compositions ("astronomical silicate," amorphous olivine, or amorphous pyroxene) combined with warm and cold carbon dust (amorphous carbon, or graphite), we are able to closely reproduce the observed IR emission of these %spectroscopically anomalous galaxies. We find that the dust temperature is the primary cause in regulating the steep $\sim$5--8\mum continuum and silicate emission, insensitive to the exact silicate or carbon dust mineralogy and grain size $a$ as long as a\simlt1\mum. More specifically, the temperature of the \simali5--8\mum continuum emitter (which is essentially carbon dust) of these galaxies is $\sim$250--400\K, much lower than that of typical quasars which is $\sim$640\K. Moreover, it appears that larger dust grains are preferred in quasars. The lower dust temperature and smaller grain sizes inferred for these three galaxies compared with that of quasars could be due to the fact that they may harbor a young/weak AGN which is not maturely developed yet.Comment: 31 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Petrography and bulk composition of Miller Range 05035: a new lunar VLT gabbro

Miller Range (MIL) 05035 is a crystalline lunar mare gabbroic meteorite collected in Antarctica in 2005 [1]. It is an important new sample in the lunar meteorite (LM) collection as it is only one of ~8 to be classified as basaltic in nature. MIL 05035 is coarsely grained with large pyroxene grains ( 8mm) subophitically enclosing plagioclase grains ( 6mm), and accessory ilmenite, spinel, silica and sulphide phases

Olivine or Impact Melt: Nature of the "Orange" Material on Vesta from Dawn

NASA's Dawn mission observed a great variety of colored terrains on asteroid (4) Vesta during its survey with the Framing Camera (FC). Here we present a detailed study of the orange material on Vesta, which was first observed in color ratio images obtained by the FC and presents a red spectral slope. The orange material deposits can be classified into three types, a) diffuse ejecta deposited by recent medium-size impact craters (such as Oppia), b) lobate patches with well-defined edges, and c) ejecta rays from fresh-looking impact craters. The location of the orange diffuse ejecta from Oppia corresponds to the olivine spot nicknamed "Leslie feature" first identified by Gaffey (1997) from ground-based spectral observations. The distribution of the orange material in the FC mosaic is concentrated on the equatorial region and almost exclusively outside the Rheasilvia basin. Our in-depth analysis of the composition of this material uses complementary observations from FC, the visible and infrared spectrometer (VIR), and the Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND). Combining the interpretations from the topography, geomorphology, color and spectral parameters, and elemental abundances, the most probable analog for the orange material on Vesta is impact melt

Expanding the application of the Eu-oxybarometer to the lherzolitic shergottites and nakhlites: Implications for the oxidation state heterogeneity of the Martian interior

Experimentally rehomogenized melt inclusions from the nakhlite Miller Range 03346 (MIL 03346) and the lherzolitic shergottite Allan Hills 77005 (ALH 77005) have been analyzed for their rare earth element (REE) concentrations in order to characterize the early melt compositions of these Martian meteorites and to calculate the oxygen fugacity conditions they crystallized under. D(Eu/Sm)pyroxene/melt values were measured at 0.77 and 1.05 for ALH 77005 and MIL 03346, respectively. These melts and their associated whole rock compositions have similar REE patterns, suggesting that whole rock REE values are representative of those of the early melts and can be used as input into the pyroxene Eu-oxybarometer for the nakhlites and lherzolitic shergottites. Crystallization fO_2 values of IW + 1.1 (ALH 77005) and IW + 3.2 (MIL 03346) were calculated. Whole rock data from other nakhlites and lherzolitic shergottites was input into the Eu-oxybarometer to determine their crystallization fO_2 values. The lherzolitic shergottites and nakhlites have fO_2 values that range from IW + 0.4 to 1.6 and from IW + 1.1 to 3.2, respectively. These values are consistent with some previously determined fO_2 estimates and expand the known range of fO_2 values of the Martian interior to four orders of magnitude. The origins of this range are not well constrained. Possible mechanisms for producing this spread in fO_2 values include mineral/melt fractionation, assimilation, shock effects, and magma ocean crystallization processes. Mineral/melt partitioning can result in changes in fO_2 from the start to the finish of crystallization of 2 orders of magnitude. In addition, crystallization of a Martian magma ocean with reasonable initial water content results in oxidized, water-rich, late-stage cumulates. Sampling of these oxidized cumulates or interactions between reduced melts and the oxidized material can potentially account for the range of fO_2 values observed in the Martian meteorites

Silica-Rich Bright Debris Disk around HD 15407A

We report an intriguing debris disk towards the F3V star HD 15407A, in which an extremely large amount of warm fine dust (~ 10^(-7) M_Earth) is detected. The dust temperature is derived as ~ 500-600 K and the location of the debris dust is estimated as 0.6-1.0 AU from the central star, a terrestrial planet region. The fractional luminosity of the debris disk is ~ 0.005, which is much larger than those predicted by steady-state models of the debris disk produced by planetesimal collisions. The mid-infrared spectrum obtained by Spitzer indicates the presence of abundant micron-sized silica dust, suggesting that the dust comes from the surface layer of differentiated large rocky bodies and might be trapped around the star.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ