Evidence for K‐rich terranes on Vesta from impact spherules |
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| Authors: | J A BARRAT M BOHN Ph GILLET A YAMAGUCHI |
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| Institution: | 1. Université Européenne de Bretagne, France;2. CNRS UMR 6538 (Domaines Océaniques), U.B.O.‐I.U.E.M., Place Nicolas Copernic, 29280 Plouzané Cedex, France;3. Laboratoire des Sciences de la Terre, CNRS UMR 5570, Université de Lyon, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France;4. Antarctic Meteorite Research Center, National Institute of Polar Research, 1‐9‐10 Kaga, Itabashi, Tokyo 173‐8515, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Abstract— The howardite‐eucrite‐diogenite (HED) clan is a group of meteorites that probably originate from the asteroid Vesta. Some of them are complex breccias that contain impact glasses whose compositions mirror that of their source regions. Some K‐rich impact glasses (up to 2 wt% K2O) suggest that in addition to basalts and ultramafic cumulates, K‐rich rocks are exposed on Vesta's surface. One K‐rich glass (up to 6 wt% K2O), with a felsic composition, provides the first evidence of highly differentiated K‐rich rocks on a large asteroid. They can be compared to the rare lunar granites and suggest that magmas generated in a large asteroid are more diverse than previously thought. |
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