Testing The Gefion Family As A Possible Parent Body For The L-Chondrite Meteorites

<p>The L-chondrite meteorites are the most abundant meteorites falling to Earth. Identifying a parent body for them has been an important goal of asteroid science for more than thirty years. A link between the two could help to decipher the history of thermal regimes and evolutionary processes that occurred in the early solar system. A plausible or probable parent body can be identified based on two main criteria. A plausible body will either be located favorably to deliver the relevant amounts of meteoroids to the Earth, or will possess a surface mineralogy compatible with that of the L-chondrite meteorites. A probable parent body will meet both criteria (Gaffey, 2011).</p> <p> Based on research performed on fossil L-chondrite meteorites, and dynamical modeling of various resonances and asteroid families, the Gefion family has been hypothesized as a plausible source of the L-chondrite meteorites. It is favorably located within the asteroid belt for delivery of fragments to Earth, so in an effort to test the possibility that this family is a probable parent to these meteorites, this study used near-infrared spectral data gathered with the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) to characterize the mineralogy of two asteroids of the Gefion Family.</p> <p> Although not solidly proven to be L-chondrites, both asteroids are grossly consistent with the mineralogy of this type of meteorite. Taking error into </p> <p>account, whether human, meteorological, or instrumental, both asteroids can reasonably be considered to fall within the L-chondrite realm. More spectra of these and other Gefion asteroids are needed to come to a valid conclusion regarding the family as a source for these meteorites, but at this point the hypothesis is still a viable one.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Space Studies

Year

2012

Author dc:creator

• Blagen, Jessica Ronnie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Mike J. Gaffey

• Asteroids, Gefion family, L-chondrites, Meteorites, Mineralogy, Spectroscopy

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.und.edu/theses/1227

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.und.edu:theses-2228