Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Daly, R. Terik
• Schultz, Peter H.

Titel

Predictions for impactor contamination on Ceres based on hypervelocity impact experiments

Ist Teil von

• Geophysical research letters, 2015-10, Vol.42 (19), p.7890-7898

Ort / Verlag

Washington: Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2015

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Wiley Online Library Journals Frontfile Complete

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• New experiments predict that Ceres should be extensively contaminated with meteoritic debris derived from the asteroid belt. All types of impactors likely contribute to the contamination. Ceres may accrete debris more efficiently if it is ice‐rich because of enhanced projectile survival and retention in porous ice targets. Experiments indicate that if a silicate regolith lag protects subsurface ice, then some of the projectile should be injected into the regolith during high‐angle impacts, thereby hiding part of the projectile component from view. If impacts excavate ice, sublimation will gradually concentrate projectile relics into a surficial lag. In contrast, if the near‐surface lacks ice, then accreted meteoritic debris should be distributed throughout a vertically mixed regolith. High‐resolution images may reveal pristine projectile relics lining some crater floors. Moreover, we predict that the surface of Ceres is not exclusively endogenic and may be dominated by delivered exogenic debris. Key Points Impact experiments reveal how efficiently icy targets retain impactors Ice content of Ceres will change extent and expression of projectile component Ceres is likely heavily contaminated by all types of impactors