Response to “Half-Baked Asteroids Have Earth Like Crust”

            It was previously assumed that the types of rock of which asteroids could be made of were limited because of their size. However, a new discovery of 2 formerly unheard of meteorites in 2006/2007 during the ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorites) may bring to light new ideas of how asteroid form and evolve.

            The samples of asteroid were made of a feldspar-rich rock known as andesite. (Feldspar is important in glass and ceramic industries, and many other industries used for everyday necessities). This is the first time a sample has been found elsewhere in the universe. This rock is in our crust and indigenous to areas like the Andes mountains. Because of the concentration of chemicals, it is believed that they come from a place with tectonic plates, therefore leading to the idea that the fragment came not from an asteroid, but a planet or moon, which was later disproved.

            Most solar system satellites have their own oxygen isotopes that distinguish one from another. Via other scientific methods, age of meteorites can be determined – this meteorite’s age was approximated to be more than 4.5 billions years old. This means that crusts like Earth’s formed very early on in the birth of the solar system.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090107134526.htm