Strange meteorites from unknown asteroid/dwarf planet

[andy lloyd]

Strange meteorites from unknown asteroid/dwarf planet

Here's a new mystery to consider. Two meteorites, known as GRA 06128
and GRA 06129, were discovered in the Graves-Nunataks region of
Antarctica in 2006 (1). They are unlike any other meteorites. They
date almost back as far as the birth of the solar system, some 4.5
billion years ago. Scientists are puzzled by them because they appear
to have come from a sizeable object that is large enough to retain its
own heat and so undergo internal melting. This process, common to
planets and moons, causes a differentiation of the rocks and chemical
composition of the body. The mysterious body is likely to be at least
200 km in diameter, which rules out the vast majority of asteroids.

Here are some of the puzzling aspects of the case: "Although initial
oxygen isotopic compositions are consistent with an origin in the
Earth-Moon system, numerous observations appear to eliminate both
bodies," says Chip Shearer of the University of New Mexico (2). So
the meteorites originate from beyond the Earth-Moon system.
Additionally, the high sodium content of the meteorites implies that
the body they originated from was rich in water (3). Yet, it they are
inconsistent with Martian meteorites. Venus seems an impossible fit.

So, the problem is - which body in the solar system did the meteorites
come from, and how did they get here? Our knowledge of the
composition of many planets and asteroids in the solar system is
incomplete, and the data we have from our current collection of
meteorites is limited:

"The contemporary flux of meteorites is biased and unrepresentative of
Solar System materials; this is because of the complex sequence of
events required to bring a meteorite from its parent body to Earth.
These biases include, but are not limited to, longevity of the parent
body in the asteroid belt, location of asteroids near dynamically
favourable delivery zones/resonances, impact-excavation and
preservation of the meteorite from its parent body and low-velocity
collision with Earth." (4)

It may be that the originating body is one of the larger asteroids,
but how did the asteroid manage to undergo these internal changes so
quickly? The solar system had barely had time to form before these
fragments were separated from their parent body. It has been
suggested that the differentiation of the body was only partial - and
that this would allow scientists to square the circle of the
remarkable age of these meteorites against the timeframe needed for
the parent body to properly differentiate (5).

A more radical suggestion has been put forward by Lunar and Planetary
Institute researcher Allain Treiman. He thinks it probable that the
source was a destroyed dwarf planet (6). Under this hypothesis,
fragments of the destroyed world remain in the asteroid belt, awaiting
spectroscopic analysis for verification. We know that the early solar
system was a violent place. We may be closer to understanding some of
the detail of that early turmoil.



Written by Andy Lloyd, with research by Lee Covino, 7th December 2009

References:

1) Paul Rincon, "Antarctica's unique space rocks" 13th March 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7294181.stm

2) Anne Minard, "Mysterious Meteorites Stymie Scientists" 12th March
2008 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080312-meteorites.html

3) Lester Haines, "Antarctic meteorite points to smashed dwarf planet"
13th March 2008 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/13/lost_world/

4) J.M.D. Day, et al "Making Crust In The Asteroid Belt: Evidence
From GRA 06128/9 And Brachinites" 40th Lunar and Planetary Science
Conference (2009), http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2009/pdf/2012.pdf

5) PhysOrg.com, "Half-baked asteroids have Earth-like crust" 7th
January, 2009 http://www.physorg.com/news150557683.html

6) Luke McKinney "Antarctica Yields Fossils of a Destroyed Dwarf",
Planet 2nd Dec. 2009,
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/12/antarctica-yields-fossils-from-a-destroyed-dwarf-planet.html

[yari...@juno.com]

Planets and may satellites of the planets are seeded by primordial black holes.  THE ASTRO-METRICS theory is based on this concept.

http://www.yaridanjo.warmkessel.com/

The seeds do not last forever.  Hawking says they radiate in his Chapter 14 in his book Brief History of Time.

The seed is small and it radiates over the years heating the core of the planet or object. 

As it nears the end of its life, it explodes partially melting or shattering the small body that coalessed around it.  In this way the astroids and planetary rings are formed.

Some of Vulcan's tiny planets have also been shattered forming the Kuiper belt.

If the planet is big, it may not be shattered, it may just heat up.

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