Is the Massalia family of asteroids the source of the L-chondrite meteorites?

长期以来，小行星一直被认为是陨石的主要来源。在很多情况下，父母？陨石的主体是通过比较这些陨石和特定小行星反射阳光的方式来确定的。然而，坠落的最常见类型的陨石，即普通球粒陨石的母体尚未得到确定。该团队的假设是，一群被称为L的球粒陨石来自(20)马萨利亚小行星家族(小行星家族是一群轨道比偶然预期更相似的小行星)。该团队将使用望远镜分解马萨利亚小行星反射的光线，以便与实验室中研究的L球粒陨石进行比较。本科生和研究生都将被纳入这项研究。该项目由NSF AST和已建立的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助。主带小行星是内太阳系形成时期唯一幸存的原地残留物。除了少数例外，陨石是主带小行星的样本。因此，陨石提供了一个窗口，了解太阳星云后期的状况和过程，以及内太阳系的最早演化。研究陨石告诉我们太阳系的地球化学和岩石学，以及它的年龄(通过辐射测年)，但没有关于这些过程发生在哪里。如果L球粒陨石可以与特定的小行星家族联系起来，就可以限制L球粒陨石所记录的条件和过程在星云晚期和太阳系早期的位置。此外，该家族的年龄可以通过L球粒陨石的冲击年龄来确定。对家庭年龄的严格限制将允许对小行星带中轨道扩散的动力学模型进行更严格的测试和改进。这种模型对于：a)限制接近地球的流星和小行星的来源；b)模拟小行星种群的动态演变；以及c)估计其他小行星家族的年龄，从而估计该带大型碰撞的频率。本研究的总体目标是测试马萨利亚小行星家族是否为L球粒陨石的潜在来源。这项工作将通过将马萨利亚小行星的光谱与L陨石的实验室光谱进行比较来完成。这一奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Asteroids have long been believed to be the primary source of meteorites. In many cases, ?parent? bodies of meteorites have been determined by comparing the way those meteorites and specific asteroids reflect sunlight. However, the parent body of the most common type of meteorites seen to fall, known as ordinary chondrites, has yet to be firmly identified. The team's hypothesis is that a group known as L-chondrites come from the (20) Massalia family of asteroids (An asteroid family is a group of asteroids with orbits more similar than would be expected by chance). The team will use telescopes to break down the light reflected by the Massalia asteroids for comparison with L-chondrites studied in the laboratory. Both undergraduate and graduate students will be included in the research. This project is jointly funded by NSF AST and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).Main belt asteroids are the sole surviving in situ remnants from the formation epoch of the inner Solar System. With few exceptions, meteorites are samples of main belt asteroids. Meteorites thus provide a window into the condition and processes in the late stages of the solar nebula and the earliest evolution of the inner Solar System. Studying meteorites tells us about the geochemistry and petrology of the Solar System, and about its age (from radiometric dating), but nothing about where these processes occurred. If the L-chondrites can be linked to a specific asteroid family, the late nebular and early solar system location of the conditions and processes recorded by the L-chondrites can be constrained. Moreover, the age of that family can be established by the shock ages of the L-chondrites. A firm constraint on the age of a family would allow a more rigorous testing and refining of dynamical models of orbital diffusion in the asteroid belt. Such models are important for: A) constraining the sources of Earth-approaching meteoroids and asteroids, B) for modeling the dynamical evolution of the asteroid population, and C) for estimating the ages of other asteroid families and hence the frequency of large collisions in the belt. The overall goal of the present study is to test the (20) Massalia asteroid family as a potential source of the L-chondrites. This work will be done by comparing spectra of Massalia asteroids for comparison with laboratory spectra of L-chondritic meteorites.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.