The history of ordinary chondrites from the data on stable isotopes of noble gases (a review)

The results of studying the distributions of stable radiogenic and cosmogenic isotopes of noble gases in ordinary chondrites are reviewed here: the distributions of gas-retention and exposure ages are analyzed, the chronology and consequences of catastrophic destruction of the parent bodies of H and L chondrites are discussed, the fallen and preatmospheric masses of Antarctic and non-Antarctic meteorites are compared, the diffusion losses of noble gases in meteorites are considered, the ablation of meteorites and their mean lifetime after separation from the parent bodies are estimated, and a number of other problems are discussed.__________Translated from Astronomicheskii Vestnik, Vol. 39, No. 2, 2005, pp. 141–168.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Alexeev.