A deep crust-mantle boundary in the asteroid 4 Vesta

• Published in: Nature
• Main Authors: Clenet, Harold, Jutzi, Martin, Barrat, Jean-Alix, J-A, Asphaug, Erik I., Benz, Willy, Gillet, Philippe
• Other Authors: Institut de Physique de la Matière Condensée (EPSL), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Physikalisches Institut Bern, Universität Bern = University of Bern = Université de Berne (UNIBE), Domaines Océaniques (LDO), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers-Institut d'écologie et environnement-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE), Arizona State University Tempe (ASU)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: CCSD 2014
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.PL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Planetology; South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-01056295; https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13499

International audience The asteroid 4 Vesta was recently found to have two large impact craters near its south pole, exposing subsurface material. Modelling suggested that surface material in the northern hemisphere of Vesta came from a depth of about 20 kilometres, whereas the exposed southern material comes from a depth of 60 to 100 kilometres. Large amounts of olivine from the mantle were not seen, suggesting that the outer 100 kilometres or so is mainly igneous crust. Here we analyse the data on Vesta and conclude that the crust-mantle boundary (or Moho) is deeper than 80 kilometres.