Is Vesta an intact and pristine protoplanet?

Journal
Date Issued
2015
Author(s)
Consolmagno, G. J.
•
Golabek, G. J.
•
•
Jutzi, M.
•
Sirono, S.
•
Svetsov, V.
•
Tsiganis, K.
DOI
Abstract
It is difficult to find a Vesta model of iron core, pyroxene and olivine-rich mantle, and HED crust that can match the joint constraints of (a) Vesta's density and core size as reported by the Dawn spacecraft team; (b) the chemical trends of the HED meteorites, including the depletion of sodium, the FeO abundance, and the trace element enrichments; and (c) the absence of exposed mantle material on Vesta's surface, among Vestoid asteroids, or in our collection of basaltic meteorites. These conclusions are based entirely on mass-balance and density arguments, independent of any particular formation scenario for the HED meteorites themselves. We suggest that Vesta either formed from source material with non-chondritic composition or underwent after its formation a radical physical alteration, possibly caused by collisional processes, that affected its global composition and interior structure.
Volume
254
Start page
190
Uri
Url
Issn Identifier
0019-1035
Ads BibCode
2015Icar..254..190C
Rights
open.access
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