Smithsonian Institution

• Main Authors: Thomas H. Burbine, Timothy J. Mccoy, Anders Meibom, Brett Gladman, Klaus Keil
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.467.6925; http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~tburbine/Burbine.asteroidsIII.20002.pdf

Extensive collection efforts in Antarctica and the Sahara in the past 10 years have greatly increased the number of known meteorites. Groupings of meteorites according to petrologic, mineralogical, bulk- chemical, and isotopic properties suggest the existence of 100–150 dis-tinct parent bodies. Dynamical studies imply that most meteorites have their source bodies in the main belt and not among the near-Earth asteroids. Spectral observations of asteroids are currently the primary way of determining asteroid mineralogies. Linkages between ordinary chondrites and S asteroids, CM chondrites and C-type asteroids, the HEDs and 4 Vesta, and iron meteorites, enstatite chondrites, and M asteroids are discussed. However, it is difficult to con-clusively link most asteroids with particular meteorite groups due to the number of asteroids with similar spectral properties and the uncertainties in the optical, chemical, and physical proper-ties of the asteroid regolith. 1.