Abstract
Howardite-eucrite-diogenite (HED) meteorites, thought to be derived from 4 Vesta, provide the best sampling available for any differentiated asteroid. However, deviations in oxygen isotopic composition from a common mass-fractionation line suggest that a few eucrite-like meteorites are from other bodies, or that Vesta was not completely homogenized during differentiation. The petrology and geochemistry of HEDs provide insights into igneous processes that produced a crust composed of basalts, gabbros, and ultramafic cumulate rocks. Although most HED magmas were fractionated, it is unresolved whether some eucrites may have been primary melts. The geochemistry of HEDs indicates that bulk Vesta is depleted in volatile elements and is relatively reduced, but has chondritic refractory element abundances. The compositions of HEDs may favor a magma ocean model, but inconsistencies remain. Geochronology indicates that Vesta accreted and differentiated within the first several million years of solar system history, that magmatism continued over a span of ∼10 Myr, and that its thermal history extended for perhaps 100 Myr. The protracted cooling history is probably responsible for thermal metamorphism of most HEDs. Impact chronology indicates that Vesta experienced many significant collisions, including during the late heavy bombardment. The age of the huge south pole crater is controversial, but it probably ejected Vestoids and many HEDs. Continued impacts produced a regolith composed of eucrite and diogenite fragments containing only minor exotic materials. HED meteorites serve as ground truth for orbital spectroscopic and chemical analyses by the Dawn spacecraft, and their properties are critical for instrument calibration and interpretation of Vesta’s geologic history.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
J.A. Barrat, A. Yamaguchi, R.C. Greenwood, M. Bohn, J. Cotton, M. Benoit, I.A. Franchi, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 71, 4108 (2007)
J.A. Barrat, A. Yamaguchi, M. Benoit, J. Cotton, M. Bohn, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 43, 1759 (2008)
J.A. Barrat, M. Bohn, Ph. Gillet, A. Yamaguchi, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 44, 359 (2009)
A.W. Beck, H.Y. McSween, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXIX, CD #1391 (2008)
A.W. Beck, H.Y. McSween, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. (2010, in press)
J.L. Berkley, N.J. Boynton, Meteoritics 27, 387 (1992)
A. Bischoff, E.R.D. Scott, K. Metzler, C.A. Goodrich, in Meteorites and the Early Solar System II, ed. by D.S. Lauretta, H.Y. McSween (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 2006), p. 679
R.P. Binzel, S. Xu, Science 260, 186 (1993)
R.P. Binzel, M.J. Gaffey, P.C. Thomas, B.H. Zellner, A.D. Storrs, E.N. Wells, Icarus 128, 95 (1997)
M. Bizzarro, D. Ulfbeck, A. Trinquier, K. Thrane, J.N. Connelly, B.S. Meyer, Science 316, 1178 (2007)
J. Blichert, M. Boyet, P. Telouk, F. Albarede, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 204, 167 (2002)
D.D. Bogard, D.H. Garrison, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 38, 669 (2003)
D.D. Bogard, D.H. Garrison, Lunar Planet. Sci. XL, CD #1131 (2009)
W.F. Bottke, D.P. Rubincam, J.A. Burns, Icarus 145, 301 (2000)
W.F. Bottke, D. Nesvorny, R.E. Grimm, A. Morbidelli, D.P. O’Brien, Nature 439, 821 (2005)
L.E. Bowman, M.N. Spilde, J.J. Papike, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 32, 869 (1997)
L.E. Bowman, J.J. Papike, M.N. Spilde, Am. Mineral. 84, 1020 (1999)
R. Brett, M. Sato, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 48, 111 (1984)
P.C. Buchanan, D.J. Lindstrom, D.W. Mittlefehldt, C. Koeberl, W.U. Reimold, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 35, 1321 (2000)
P.C. Buchanan, M.E. Zolensky, R.C. Greenwood, I.A. Franchi, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 44, A42 (2009)
T.H. Burbine, P.C. Buchanan, R.P. Binzel, S.J. Bus, T. Hiroi, J.L. Hinrichs, A. Meibom, T.J. McCoy, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 36, 761 (2001)
T.E. Bunch, Proc. Lunar Sci. Conf. 6, 469 (1975)
T.E. Bunch, R.S. Rajan, in Meteorites and the Early Solar System, ed. by J.F. Kerridge, M.S. Matthews (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1988), p. 144
M.W. Caffee, J.N. Goswami, C.M. Hohenburg, K. Marti, R.C. Reedy, in Meteorites and the Early Solar System, ed. by J.F. Kerridge, M.S. Matthews (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1988), p. 205
H. Chennaoui Aoudjehanne, A. Jambon, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXVIII, CD #1714 (2007)
C.-L. Chou, W.V. Boynton, R.W. Bild, J. Kimberlin, J.T. Wasson, Proc. Lunar Sci. Conf. 7, 3501 (1976)
D.W. Collinson, S.J. Morden, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 126, 421 (1994)
G.Y. Consolmagno, M.J. Drake, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 41, 1271 (1977)
D.P. Cruickshank, D.J. Tholen, W.K. Hartmann, J.F. Bell, R.H. Brown, Icarus 89, 1 (1991)
N. Dauphas, D.L. Cook, A. Sacarabany, C. Frohlich, A.M. Davis, M. Wadhwa, A. Pournand, T. Rauscher, R. Gallino, Astrophys. J. 686, 560 (2008)
J.S. Delaney, M. Prinz, C.E. Nehru, G.E. Harlow, Lunar Planet. Sci. XII, 211 (1981)
J.S. Delaney, H. Takeda, M. Prinz, C.E. Nehru, G.E. Harlow, Meteoritics 18, 103 (1983)
J.S. Delaney, M. Prinz, H. Takeda, J. Geophys. Res. 89, C251 (1984)
K. Domanik, S. Kolar, D. Musselwhite, M.J. Drake, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 39, 567 (2004)
M.C. Domeneghetti, G.M. Molin, M. Stimpfl, M. Tribaudino, Am. Mineral. 80, 923 (1995)
G. Dreibus, H. Wänke, Z. Naturforsch. 35a, 204 (1980)
O. Eugster, T. Michel, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 59, 177 (1995)
O. Eugster, G.F. Herzog, K. Marti, M.W. Caffee, in Meteorites and the Early Solar System II, ed. by D.S. Lauretta, H.Y. McSween (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 2006), p. 829
R.J. Floran, M. Prinz, P.F. Hlava, K. Keil, B. Spettel, H. Wänke, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 45, 2385 (1981)
G.W. Fowler, J.J. Papike, M.N. Spilde, C.K. Shearer, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 58, 3921 (1994)
G.W. Fowler, C.K. Shearer, J.J. Papike, G.D. Layne, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 59, 3071 (1995)
M.J. Gaffey, Icarus 127, 130 (1997)
J. Gattecceca, P. Rochette, M. Gounelle, M. Van Gilleken, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 270, 280 (2008)
A. Ghosh, H.Y. McSween, Icarus 134, 187 (1998)
R. Gomes, H.F. Levison, K. Tsiganis, A. Morbedelli, Nature 435, 466 (2005)
R. Gooley, C.B. Moore, Am. Mineral. 61, 373 (1976)
M. Gounelle, M.E. Zolensky, J.-C. Liou, P.A. Bland, O. Alard, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 67, 507 (2003)
R.C. Greenwood, I.A. Franchi, A. Jambon, P.C. Buchanan, Nature 435, 916 (2005)
R.C. Greenwood, I.A. Franchi, A. Jambon, J.A. Barrat, T.H. Burbine, Science 313, 1763 (2006)
H. Haack, K.L. Rasmussen, P.H. Warren, J. Geophys. Res. 95, 5111 (1990)
T.A. Harriott, R.H. Hewins, Meteoritics 19, 15 (1984)
R.H. Hewins, in Workshop on Lunar Breccias and Soils and Their Meteoritic Analogs, ed. by G.J. Taylor, L.L. Wilkening (Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, 1982), p. 44
R.H. Hewins, H.E. Newsom, in Meteorites and the Early Solar System, ed. by J.F. Kerridge, M.S. Matthews (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1988), p. 73
R.H. Hewins, G.C. Ulmer, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 48, 1555 (1984)
A. Holzheid, H. Palme, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 42, 1817 (2007)
K.R. Housen, L.L. Wilkening, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 10, 355 (1982)
W. Hsu, G. Crozaz, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 60, 4571 (1996)
Y. Ikeda, H. Takeda, J. Geophys. Res. 90, C649 (1985)
A.J. Irving, S.M. Kuehner, D. Rumble, A.C. Hupė, G.M. Hupė, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXIV, CD #1502 (2003)
S.B. Jacobson, G.J. Wasserburg, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 67, 137 (1984)
J.H. Jones, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 48, 641 (1984)
J.H. Jones, in A Handbook of Physical Constants: Rock Physics and Phase Relations, ed. by T.J. Ahrens (Am. Geophys. Union, Washington, 1995), p. 73
A.J.G. Jurewicz, D.W. Mittlefehldt, J.H. Jones, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 57, 2123 (1993)
A.J.G. Jurewicz, D.W. Mittlefehldt, J.H. Jones, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 59, 391 (1995)
K. Keil, in Asteroids III, ed. by W. Bottke, A. Cellino, P. Paolicchi, R.P. Binzel (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 2002), p. 573
T. Kleine, K. Mezger, C. Munker, H. Palme, A. Bischoff, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 68, 2935 (2004)
T. Kleine, M. Touboul, B. Bourdon, F. Nimmo, K. Mezger, H. Palme, S.B. Jacobsen, Q.-Z. Yin, A.N. Halliday, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73, 5150 (2009)
A.S. Konopliv, C.F. Yoder, E.M. Standish, D.-N. Yuan, W.L. Sjogren, Icarus 182, 23 (2006)
M.J. Krawczynski, L.T. Elkins-Tanton, T.L. Grove, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXIX, CD #1229 (2008)
A. Kumar, K. Gopalan, N. Bhandari, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 63, 3997 (1999)
D. Lazzaro, T. Michtchenko, J.M. Carvano, R.P. Binzel, S.J. Bus, T.H. Burbine, T. Mothe-Dinz, M. Florczak, C.A. Angeli, A.W. Harris, Science 288, 2033 (2000)
M.M. Lindstrom, D.W. Mittlefehldt, Meteoritics 27, 250 (1992)
K. Lodders, Astrophys. J. 591, 1220 (2003)
K. Lodders, B. Fegley Jr., The Planetary Scientists’ Companion (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1998), 371 pp.
G.W. Lugmair, A. Shukolyukov, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 62, 2863 (1998)
F. Marzari, A. Cellino, D.R. Davis, P. Farinella, V. Zappala, V. Vanzani, Astron. Astrophys. 316, 248 (1996)
B. Mason, Meteorites (Wiley, New York, 1962), 274pp.
B. Mason, in Extra-Terrestrial Matter, ed. by C.A. Randall Jr. (Northern Illinois University Press, DeKalb, 1969), p. 3
B. Mason, Am. Mus. Novit. 2155, 13 (1963)
R.G. Mayne, H.Y. McSween, T.J. McCoy, A. Gale, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73, 794 (2009)
R.G. Mayne, J.M. Sunshine, H.Y. McSween, T.J. McCoy, C.M. Corrigan, A. Gale, M.D. Dyar, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. (2010, in press)
T.B. McCord, J.B. Adams, T.V. Johnson, Science 168, 1445 (1970)
T.J. McCoy, R.A. Ketcham, L. Wilson, G.K. Benedix, M. Wadhwa, A.M. Davis, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 246, 102 (2006)
D.W. Mittlefehldt, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 51, 267 (1987)
D.W. Mittlefehldt, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 58, 1537 (1994)
D.W. Mittlefehldt, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 35, 901 (2000)
D.W. Mittlefehldt, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 40, 665 (2005)
D.W. Mittlefehldt, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXIX, CD #1919 (2008)
D.W. Mittlefehldt, M.M. Lindstrom, in Proc. NIPR Symp. Antarctic Met., vol. 6 (1993), p. 268
D.W. Mittlefehldt, M.M. Lindstrom, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 61, 453 (1997)
D.W. Mittlefehldt, M.M. Lindstrom, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 67, 1911 (2003)
D.W. Mittlefehldt, T.J. McCoy, C.A. Goodrich, A. Kracher, in Planetary Materials, Reviews in Mineralogy, ed. by J.J. Papike, vol. 36 (Mineral. Soc. Am., Washington, 1998), p. 195
D.W. Mittlefehldt, A.W. Beck, C.-T.A. Lee, H.Y. McSween, Lunar Planet. Sci. XL, CD #1038 (2009)
M. Miyamoto, H. Takeda, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 122, 343 (1994)
M. Miyamoto, H. Takeda, K. Tanai, Mem. Natl. Inst. Polar Res. Spec. Issue 8, 185 (1978)
M. Miyamoto, M.B. Duke, D.S. McKay, J. Geophys. Res. 90, C629 (1985)
J.W. Morgan, H. Higuchi, H. Takahashi, J. Hertogen, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 42, 27 (1978)
H.E. Newsom, J. Geophys. Res. 90, C613 (1985)
H.E. Newsom, M.J. Drake, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 46, 2483 (1982)
L.E. Nyquist, H. Takeda, B.M. Bansal, C.-Y. Shih, H. Wiesmann, J.L. Wooden, J. Geophys. Res. 91, 8137 (1986)
L.E. Nyquist, H. Weismann, Y. Reese, C.-Y. Shih, L.E. Borg, Meteoritics 32, A101 (1997)
L.E. Nyquist, Y. Reese, H. Wiesmann, C.-Y. Shih, H. Takeda, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 214, 11 (2003)
L.E. Nyquist, T. Kleine, C.-Y. Shih, Y. Reese, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73, 5115 (2009)
E.J. Olsen, K. Fredriksson, S. Rajan, A. Noonan, Meteoritics 25, 187 (1990)
C.O. O’Neill, J.S. Delaney, Meteoritics 17, 265 (1982)
H. Palme, W. Rammensee, in Proc. Lunar Planet. Sci. Conf., vol. 12B (1981), p. 949
J.J. Papike, J.M. Karner, C.K. Shearer, Am. Mineral. 88, 469 (2003)
C.M. Pieters, R.P. Binzel, D. Bogard, T. Hiroi, D.W. Mittlefehldt, L. Nyquist, A. Rivkin, H. Takeda, Proc. IAU Symp. 229, 273 (2005)
A. Prinzhofer, D.A. Papanastassious, G.J. Wasserburg, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 56, 797 (1992)
M.N. Rao, D.H. Garrison, D.D. Bogard, G. Badhwar, A.V. Murali, J. Geophys. Res. 96, 19321 (1991)
K. Righter, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXII, CD #1765 (2001)
K. Righter, M.J. Drake, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 32, 929 (1997)
A. Ruzicka, G.A. Snyder, L.A. Taylor, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 32, 825 (1997)
R.O. Sack, W.J. Azeredo, M.E. Lipschutz, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 55, 1111 (1991)
K. Saiki, H. Takeda, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 34, 271 (1999)
J.M. Schwartz, I.S. McCallum, Am. Mineral. 90, 1871 (2005)
E.R.D. Scott, R.C. Greenwood, I.A. Franchi, I.S. Sanders, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73, 5835 (2009a)
E.R.D. Scott, D.D. Bogard, W.F. Bottke, G.J. Taylor, R.C. Greenwood, I.A. Franchi, K. Keil, N.A. Moskovitz, D. Nesvorny, Lunar Planet. Sci. XL, CD #2295 (2009b)
C.K. Shearer, G.W. Fowler, J.J. Papike, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 32, 877 (1997)
A. Shukolyukov, G.W. Lugmair, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 119, 159 (1993)
M.I. Smoliar, Meteoritics 28, 105 (1993)
G. Srinivasan, J.N. Goswami, N. Bhandari, Science 284, 1348 (1999)
E. Stolper, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 41, 587 (1977)
J.M. Sunshine, S.J. Bus, T.J. McCoy, T.H. Burbine, C.M. Corrigan, R.P. Binzel, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 39, 1343 (2004)
H. Takeda, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 55, 35 (1991)
H. Takeda, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 32, 841 (1997)
H. Takeda, A.L. Graham, Meteoritics 26, 129 (1991)
H. Takeda, T. Ishii, T. Arai, M. Miyamoto, Antarct. Met. Res. 10, 401 (1997)
K. Takahashi, A. Masuda, Nature 343, 540 (1990)
F. Tera, R.W. Carlson, N.Z. Boctor, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 61, 1713 (1997)
P.C. Thomas, R.P. Binzel, M.J. Gaffey, A.D. Storrs, E.N. Wells, B.H. Zellner, Science 277, 1492 (1997)
A.H. Treiman, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 32, 217 (1997)
A.H. Treiman, M.J. Drake, J. Geophys. Res. 90, C619 (1985)
A.H. Treiman, A. Lanzirotti, D. Xirouchakis, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 219, 189 (2004)
A. Trinquier, J.L. Birck, C.J. Allegre, C. Gopel, D. Ulfbeck, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 72, 5146 (2008)
T. Usui, H.Y. McSween, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 42, 255 (2007)
H.C. Verma, V.C. Tweari, B.S. Paliwal, R.P. Tripathi, Hyperfine Interact. 186, 181 (2008)
F. Vilas, A.L. Cochran, K.S. Jarvis, Icarus 147, 119 (2000)
M. Wadhwa, G.W. Lugmair, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXVI, 1453 (1995)
M. Wadhwa, A. Shukolyukov, A.M. Davis, G.W. Lugmair, D.W. Mittlefehldt, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 67, 5047 (2003)
M. Wadhwa, G. Srinivasan, R.W. Carlson, in Meteorites and the Early Solar System II, ed. by D.S. Lauretta, H.Y. McSween (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 2006), p. 715
M. Wadhwa, Y. Amelin, O. Bogdanovski, A. Shukolyukov, G.W. Lugmair, P.E. Janney, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73, 5189 (2009)
P.H. Warren, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 49, 577 (1985)
P.H. Warren, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 32, 945 (1997)
P.H. Warren, P. Gessler, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXII, 1970 (2001)
P.H. Warren, E.A. Jerde, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 51, 713 (1987)
P.H. Warren, E.A. Jerde, L.F. Migdisova, A.A. Yaroshevsky, in Proc. Lunar Planet. Sci. Conf., vol. 20 (1990), p. 281
P.H. Warren, G.W. Kallemeyn, H. Huber, F. Ulf-Møller, W. Choe, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73, 5918 (2009)
K.C. Welten, L. Lindner, K. van der Berg, T. Loeken, P. Scherer, L. Schultz, Meteorit. Planet Sci. 32, 891 (1997)
K.C. Welten, M.W. Caffee, A.W. Beck, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 44, A216 (2009)
U.H. Wiechert, A. Halliday, H. Palme, D. Rumble, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 221, 373 (2004)
L.L. Wilkening, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 37, 1985 (1973)
A. Yamaguchi, G.J. Taylor, K. Keil, Icarus 124, 97 (1996)
A. Yamaguchi, G.J. Taylor, K. Keil, D.D. Bogard, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 32, A144 (1997)
A. Yamaguchi, G.J. Taylor, K. Keil, C. Floss, G. Crozaz, L.E. Nyquist, D.D. Bogard, D.H. Garrison, Y.D. Reese, H. Weismann, C.-Y. Shih, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65, 3577 (2001)
A. Yamaguchi, R.N. Clayton, T.K. Mayeda, M. Ebihara, Y. Oura, Y.N. Miura, H. Haramura, K. Misawa, H. Kojima, K. Nagao, Science 296, 334 (2002)
M. Zema, M.C. Domeneghetti, G.M. Molin, V. Tazzoli, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 32, 855 (1997)
M.E. Zolensky, M.K. Weisberg, P.C. Buchanan, D.W. Mittlefehldt, Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 31, 518 (1996)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McSween, H.Y., Mittlefehldt, D.W., Beck, A.W. et al. HED Meteorites and Their Relationship to the Geology of Vesta and the Dawn Mission. Space Sci Rev 163, 141–174 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-010-9637-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-010-9637-z