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Science 12 April 2002:
Vol. 296. no. 5566, pp. 334 - 336
DOI: 10.1126/science.1069408
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Reports

A New Source of Basaltic Meteorites Inferred from Northwest Africa 011 

Akira Yamaguchi,12* Robert N. Clayton,3 Toshiko K. Mayeda,3 Mitsuru Ebihara,4 Yasuji Oura,4 Yayoi N. Miura,5 Hiroshi Haramura,1 Keiji Misawa,12 Hideyasu Kojima,12 Keisuke Nagao6

Eucrites are a class of basaltic meteorites that share common mineralogical, isotopic, and chemical properties and are thought to have been derived from the same parent body, possibly asteroid 4 Vesta. The texture, mineralogy, and noble gas data of the recently recovered meteorite, Northwest Africa (NWA) 011, are similar to those of basaltic eucrites. However, the oxygen isotopic composition of NWA011 is different from that of other eucrites, indicating that NWA011 may be derived from a different parent body. The presence of basaltic meteorites with variable oxygen isotopic composition suggests the occurrence of multiple basaltic meteorite parent bodies, perhaps similar to 4 Vesta, in the early solar system.

1 Antarctic Meteorite Research Center, National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo 173-8515, Japan.
2 The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Tokyo 173-8515, Japan.
3 Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
4 Department of Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan.
5 Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan.
6 Laboratory for Earthquake Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: yamaguch{at}nipr.ac.jp

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