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INCORPORATION OF A LATE-FORMING CHONDRULE INTO COMET WILD 2

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal Letters
; ;  [1]; ; ; ;  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
  2. Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
  3. Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States)
  4. Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
We report the petrology, O isotopic composition, and Al-Mg isotope systematics of a chondrule fragment from the Jupiter-family comet Wild 2, returned to Earth by NASA's Stardust mission. This object shows characteristics of a type II chondrule that formed from an evolved oxygen isotopic reservoir. No evidence for extinct {sup 26}Al was found, with ({sup 26}Al/{sup 27}Al){sub 0} < 3.0 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -6}. Assuming homogenous distribution of {sup 26}Al in the solar nebula, this particle crystallized at least 3 Myr after the earliest solar system objects-relatively late compared to most chondrules in meteorites. We interpret the presence of this object in a Kuiper Belt body as evidence of late, large-scale transport of small objects between the inner and outer solar nebula. Our observations constrain the formation of Jupiter (a barrier to outward transport if it formed further from the Sun than this cometary chondrule) to be more than 3 Myr after calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions.
OSTI ID:
22048076
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 745; ISSN 2041-8205
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English