Status Report

Chelyabinsk: A Rock With Many Different (Stony) Faces: An Infrared Study

By Keith Cowing
Status Report
astro-ph.EP
January 24, 2023
Filed under , , , ,
Chelyabinsk: A Rock With Many Different (Stony) Faces: An Infrared Study
This image of a vapor trail was captured about 125 miles (200 kilometers) from the Chelyabinsk meteor event, about one minute after the house-sized asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere. Credits: Alex Alishevskikh via NASA

In order to provide spectral ground truth data for remote sensing applications, we have measured midinfrared spectra (2 to 18 micron) of three typical, well defined lithologies from the Chelyabinsk meteorite.

In order to provide spectral ground truth data for remote sensing applications, we have measured midinfrared spectra (2 to 18 micron) of three typical, well defined lithologies from the Chelyabinsk meteorite.

These lithologies are classified as (a) moderately shocked, light lithology, (b) shock darkened lithology, and (c) impact melt lithology. Analyses were made from bulk material in four size fractions (0 to 25 micron, 25 to 63 micron, 63 to 125 micron, and 125 to 250 micron), and from additional thin sections. Characteristic infrared features in the powdered bulk material of the moderately shocked, light lithology, dominated by olivine, pyroxene and feldspathic glass, are a Christiansen feature (CF) between 8.5 and 8.8 micron; a transparency feature (TF) in the finest size fraction at about 13 micron, and strong reststrahlen bands (RB) at about 9.1 micron, 9.5 micron, 10.3 micron, 10.8 micron, 11.2 to 11.3 micron, 12 micron, and between 16 and 17 micron.

The ranges of spectral features for the micro FTIR spots show a wider range than those obtained in diffuse reflectance, but are generally similar. With increasing influence of impact shock from pristine LL5 (or LL6) material (which have a low or moderate degree of shock) to the shock-darkened lithology and the impact melt lithology as endmembers, we observe the fading or disappearing of spectral features. Most prominent is the loss of a twin peak feature between 10.8 and 11.3 micron, which turns into a single peak. In addition, in the pure impact melt endmember lithology features at about 9.6 micron and about 9.1 micron are also lost. These losses are most likely correlated with decreasing amounts of crystal structure as the degree of shock melting increases.

Andreas Morlok, Addi Bischoff, Markus Patzeck, Martin Sohn, Harald Hiesinger

Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Geophysics (physics.geo-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:2301.06525 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2301.06525v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
Journal reference: Icarus (2017), Volume 284, p. 431-442
Related DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.11.030
Focus to learn more
Submission history
From: Andreas Morlok [view email]
[v1] Mon, 16 Jan 2023 17:22:20 UTC (38,376 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.06525

Astrochemistry

SpaceRef co-founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.