Reassigning CI chondrite parent bodies based on reflectance spectroscopy of samples from carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu and meteorites

Kana Amano, Moe Matsuoka, Tomoki Nakamura, Eiichi Kagawa, Yuri Fujioka, Sandra M. Potin, Takahiro Hiroi, Eri Tatsumi, Ralph E. Milliken, More Authors

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
37 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu has been explored by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft to elucidate the actual nature of hydrous asteroids. Laboratory analyses revealed that the samples from Ryugu are comparable to unheated CI carbonaceous chondrites; however, reflectance spectra of Ryugu samples and CIs do not coincide. Here, we demonstrate that Ryugu sample spectra are reproduced by heating Orgueil CI chondrite at 300°C under reducing conditions, which caused dehydration of terrestrial weathering products and reduction of iron in phyllosilicates. Terrestrial weathering of CIs accounts for the spectral differences between Ryugu sample and CIs, which is more severe than space weathering that likely explains those between asteroid Ryugu and the collected samples. Previous assignments of CI chondrite parent bodies, i.e., chemically most primitive objects in the solar system, are based on the spectra of CI chondrites. This study indicates that actual spectra of CI parent bodies are much darker and flatter at ultraviolet to visible wavelengths than the spectra of CI chondrites.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbereadi3789
Pages (from-to)eadi3789
JournalScience Advances
Volume9
Issue number49
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

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