A mysterious asteroid that fell to Earth in 2008 may be a fragment of a dwarf planet the size of Ceres, which sometime was part of our solar system.
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This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the United States, after analyzing the composition of the asteroid 2008 TC3. Their work is published in Nature Astronomy.
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2008 TC3 with a diameter of two to five meters collapsed when falling in the atmosphere over the territory of Sudan on October 7, 2008, part of the debris reached the Earth’s surface. A few months later, in the Nubian Desert, a group of researchers and students managed to collect about 600 fragments of the “space stone”.
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Scientists from Southwest Research Institute in Boulder (USA) managed to get a sample weighing no more than 50 mg. But this was enough to study its composition using an infrared microscope.
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Spectral analysis showed something that scientists did not expect to find. An extremely rare form of mineral known as amphibole was discovered inside the shard. Their formation requires exposure to very high temperatures and pressures for a long time. Such conditions are not characteristic of carbonaceous chondritic meteorites.
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Scientists have suggested that 2008 TC3 is likely sometime was a fragment of a much larger body about the size of the dwarf planet Ceres or even larger. Its diameter could be from 640 to 1800 km.
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Researchers will continue to study the debris to find out where in the solar system the debris of the mysterious object may be.
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