An investigation of the relationship between morphology and chemistry of the D-type spherules from the recovery expedition of the CNEOS 2014-01-08 bolide: Implications for origins

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hyung, Eugenia, Cherston, Juliana, Jacobsen, Stein B., Abraham, Loeb
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866916567449600000
author Hyung, Eugenia
Cherston, Juliana
Jacobsen, Stein B.
Abraham
Loeb
author_facet Hyung, Eugenia
Cherston, Juliana
Jacobsen, Stein B.
Abraham
Loeb
contents Cosmic spherules have largely been classified into S-, I-, and G-types according to their compositions, and are identified to have chondritic or achondritic materials as precursors. A recent recovery expedition attempted to sample fragments of the CNEOS 2014-01-08 bolide retrieved roughly 850 magnetic particles, some of which have unknown origins. Among those identified were a new group of highly differentiated materials consisting of close to 160 specimens categorized as "D-type" particles. We studied the D-type particles with the goal of comparing their various morphological features to their chemical compositional groupings. Four morphological classifications are considered: "scoriaceous," "stubby," "blocky," and "vesicular." The specimens from the "scoriaceous" and "stubby" groups exhibit a spinel/magnetite rim in at least one instance, characteristic of atmospheric entry, and textures indicative of quenching such as dendritic microcrystalline structures, suggesting that a subset of specimens from these groups are candidates for materials of extraterrestrial origin. The particles exhibiting "blocky" and "vesicular" textures are likely to be terrestrial in origin, with no obvious quench features or signs of ablation. The D-type particles identified and characterized in this study have a spectrum of terrestrial and probable extraterrestrial origins.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_08890
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An investigation of the relationship between morphology and chemistry of the D-type spherules from the recovery expedition of the CNEOS 2014-01-08 bolide: Implications for origins
Hyung, Eugenia
Cherston, Juliana
Jacobsen, Stein B.
Abraham
Loeb
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Chemical Physics
Geophysics
Cosmic spherules have largely been classified into S-, I-, and G-types according to their compositions, and are identified to have chondritic or achondritic materials as precursors. A recent recovery expedition attempted to sample fragments of the CNEOS 2014-01-08 bolide retrieved roughly 850 magnetic particles, some of which have unknown origins. Among those identified were a new group of highly differentiated materials consisting of close to 160 specimens categorized as "D-type" particles. We studied the D-type particles with the goal of comparing their various morphological features to their chemical compositional groupings. Four morphological classifications are considered: "scoriaceous," "stubby," "blocky," and "vesicular." The specimens from the "scoriaceous" and "stubby" groups exhibit a spinel/magnetite rim in at least one instance, characteristic of atmospheric entry, and textures indicative of quenching such as dendritic microcrystalline structures, suggesting that a subset of specimens from these groups are candidates for materials of extraterrestrial origin. The particles exhibiting "blocky" and "vesicular" textures are likely to be terrestrial in origin, with no obvious quench features or signs of ablation. The D-type particles identified and characterized in this study have a spectrum of terrestrial and probable extraterrestrial origins.
title An investigation of the relationship between morphology and chemistry of the D-type spherules from the recovery expedition of the CNEOS 2014-01-08 bolide: Implications for origins
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Chemical Physics
Geophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.08890