The sample is the first piece of iron space rock from a parent body with a known orbit
Scientists have studied a rare iron meteorite in detail, discovering what orbit its parent body S occupied before crashing to Earth. The 14-kilogram chunk fell to Earth after a fireball erupted over Sweden in 2020. Iron meteorites such as this constitute only around two per cent of the space rocks that make it to Earth’s surface, so the object became a rare and valuable sample.
Iron meteorites are believed to be fragments of molten metallic cores at the hearts of planetesimals, small bodies that existed around 4.5 billion years ago. Many of these bodies came together to form the Solar System’s planets. As such, studies of meteorites like this can reveal valuable information about the state of the Solar System in its infancy and the sorts of elements that ended up becoming incorporated into the planets.
“An excellent opportunity for research occurred when a bright fireball over Sweden produced the first iron meteorite with a possibility to derive its preatmospheric trajectory,” Jaakko Visuri, an analyst with the Finnish Fireball Network and Ursa Astronomical Association, said. “This provided us a unique chance to study the delivery mechanism of iron meteorites and look for iron-rich reservoirs in the Solar System.”
Seizing this opportunity was a team of astronomers from Ukraine, led by Irina Belskaya, head of the Department of Physics of Asteroids and Comets at Kharkiv National University’s Institute of Astronomy. The research was conducted as part of a project started in 2020 dedicated to studying metal-rich asteroids, which are the parent bodies of iron meteorites. “For the very first time, this discovery presents a documented trajectory of an iron meteoroid, showcasing a record-breaking fireball descent at a mere seven miles [11.4 kilometres] above Earth’s surface and also unravelling the celestial pathways it traversed before gracing our planet,” said Finnish Geospatial Research Institute researcher Maria Gritsevich.
Meteoroids are small space rocks; they become meteors when they hit Earth’s atmosphere and burn up. Pieces of these rocks that make it to Earth’s surface are called meteorites. “This achievement not only provides insights into the remarkable journey it endured, but also contributes to our understanding of the origins and dynamics of iron-rich space objects, thereby deepening our insight into the broader Solar System,” Gritsevich added.
Among the information the scientists collected about the meteorite were clues about the conditions and processes that led to its formation. This could help determine how chemical resources are distributed through the Solar System. Such work could potentially help prepare future space missions that go out on the hunt for met
