Abstract
Chondrules, which are the major constituent of chondritic meteorites, are believed to have formed during brief, localized, repetitive melting of dust (probably caused by shock waves1,2) in the protoplanetary disk around the early Sun. The ages of primitive chondrules3,4,5,6 in chondritic meteorites indicate that their formation started shortly after that of the calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions (4,567.2 ± 0.7 Myr ago) and lasted for about 3 Myr, which is consistent with the dissipation timescale for protoplanetary disks around young solar-mass stars7. Here we report the 207Pb–206Pb ages of chondrules in the metal-rich CB (Bencubbin-like) carbonaceous chondrites Gujba (4,562.7 ± 0.5 Myr) and Hammadah al Hamra 237 (4,562.8 ± 0.9 Myr), which formed during a single-stage, highly energetic event8,9,10,11. Both the relatively young ages and the single-stage formation of the CB chondrules are inconsistent with formation during a nebular shock wave2. We conclude that chondrules and metal grains in the CB chondrites formed from a vapour–melt plume produced by a giant impact between planetary embryos after dust in the protoplanetary disk had largely dissipated. These findings therefore provide evidence for planet-sized objects in the earliest asteroid belt, as required by current numerical simulations of planet formation in the inner Solar System12.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Scott, E. R. D. & Krot, A. N. in Meteorites, Comets, and Planets (ed. Davis, A. M.) Vol. 1 Treatise on Geochemistry (eds Holland, H. D. & Turekian, K. K.) 327–334 (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2003)
Desch, S. J. & Connolly, H. C. Jr. A model of the thermal processing of particles in solar nebula shocks: Application to the cooling rates of chondrules. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 37, 183–207 (2002)
Amelin, Y., Krot, A. N., Hutcheon, I. D. & Ulyanov, A. A. Lead isotopic ages of chondrules and calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions. Science 297, 1678–1683 (2002)
Bizzarro, M., Baker, J. A. & Haack, H. Mg isotope evidence for contemporaneous formation of chondrules and refractory inclusions. Nature 431, 275–278 (2004)
McKeegan, K. D. & Davis, A. M. in Meteorites, Comets, and Planets (ed. Davis, A. M.) Vol. 1 Treatise on Geochemistry (eds Holland, H. D. & Turekian, K. K.) 431–461 (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2003)
Kita, N., et al. in Chondrites and the Protoplanetary Disk (eds Krot, A. N., Scott, E. R. D. & Reipurth, B.) (Astrophysical Society of the Pacific, in the press)
Hartmann, L. in Chondrites and the Protoplanetary Disk (eds Krot, A. N., Scott, E. R. D. & Reipurth, B.) (Astrophysical Society of the Pacific, in the press)
Krot, A. N. et al. A new astrophysical setting for chondrule formation. Science 291, 1776–1779 (2001)
Rubin, A. E. et al. Formation of metal and silicate globules in Gujba: A new Bencubbin-like meteorite fall. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 67, 3283–3298 (2003)
Krot, A. N., Amelin, Y., Russell, S. S. & Twelker, E. Are chondrules in the CB carbonaceous chondrite Gujba primary (nebular) or secondary (asteroidal)? Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 39, A56 (2004)
Meibom, A. J. et al. Large scale thermal events in the solar nebula recorded in Fe,Ni metal condensates in primitive meteorites. Science 288, 839–841 (2000)
Chambers, J. E. & Wetherill, G. W. Planets in the asteroid belt. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 36, 381–399 (2001)
Jones, R. H., Lee, T., Connolly, H. C. Jr, Love, S. G. & Shang, H. in Protostars and Planets IV (eds Manning, V., Boss, A. P. & Russell, S. S.) 927–962 (Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson, 2000)
Boss, A. P. & Durisen, R. H. in Chondrites and the Protoplanetary Disk (eds Krot, A. N., Scott, E. R. D. & Reipurth, B.) (Astrophysical Society of the Pacific, in the press)
Wood, J. A. On the formation of meteoritic chondrules by aerodynamic drag heating in the solar nebula. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 70, 11–26 (1984)
Boss, A. P. & Graham, J. A. Clumpy disk accretion and chondrule formation. Icarus 106, 168–178 (1993)
Weidenschilling, S. J., Marzari, F. & Hood, L. L. The origin of chondrules and jovian resonances. Science 279, 681–684 (1998)
Wood, J. A. Processing of chondritic and planetary materials in spiral density waves in the nebula. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 31, 641–645 (1996)
Nakamoto, T., Hayashi, M. R., Kita, N. T. & Tachibana, S. in Chondrites and the Protoplanetary Disk (eds Krot, A. N., Scott, E. R. D. & Reipurth, B.) (Astrophysical Society of the Pacific, in the press)
Weisberg, M. K. et al. A new metal-rich chondrite group. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 36, 401–418 (2001)
Petaev, M. I., Meibom, A., Krot, A. N., Wood, J. A. & Keil, K. The condensation origin of zoned metal grains in Queen Alexandra Range 94411: Implications for the formation of the Bencubbin-like chondrites. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 36, 93–106 (2001)
Campbell, A. J., Humayun, M., Meibom, A. J., Krot, A. N. & Keil, K. Origin of zoned metal grains in the QUE94411 chondrite. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65, 163–180 (2001)
Alexander, C. M. O'D. & Hewins, R. H. Mass fractionation of Fe and Ni isotopes in metal in Hammadah al Hamra 237. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 39, A13 (2004)
Campbell, A. J., Humayun, M. & Weisberg, M. K. Siderophile element constraints on the formation of metal in the metal-rich chondrites Bencubbin, Weatherford, and Gujba. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 66, 647–660 (2002)
Kleine, T., Mezger, K., Palme, H., Scherer, E. & Münker, C. Early core formation in asteroids and late accretion of chondrite parent bodies: Evidence from 182Hf-182W in CAIs, metal-rich chondrites and iron meteorites. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta (submitted)
Melosh, H. J., Cassen, P., Sears, D. & Lugmair, G. in Workshop on Chondrites and the Protoplanetary Disk (eds Krot, A. N., Reipurth, B. & Scott, E. R. D.) 125–126 (Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, 2004)
Wetherill, G. W. & Stewart, G. Formation of planetary embryos: effects of fragmentation, low relative velocity, and independent variation of eccentricity and inclination. Icarus 106, 190–209 (1993)
Chambers, J. E. & Cassen, P. The effects of nebula surface density profile and giant-planet eccentricities on planetary accretion in the inner solar system. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 37, 1523–1540 (2002)
Kleine, T., Mezger, K. & Palme, H. The Hf-W age of the lunar magma ocean. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXVI, 1940 (2005)
Canup, R. M. Simulations of a late lunar-forming impact. Icarus 168, 433–456 (2004)
Acknowledgements
Financial support for this project was provided by NASA (A.N.K., P.C.) and the Canadian Space Agency (Y.A.). We thank J. A. Wood for comments and suggestions, and E. Twelker for providing samples and images of Gujba and Hammadah al Hamra 237.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
Reprints and permissions information is available at npg.nature.com/reprintsandpermissions. The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Supplementary information
Supplementary Notes
This includes Supplementary Figure Legends, Supplementary Methods and Supplementary Table S1.
Supplementary Figure S1
Polished slabs of Gujba and Hammadah al Hamra 237.
Supplementary Figure 2
Backscattered electron images of chondrules in the Gujba meteorite.
Supplementary Figure 3
Backscattered electron images of inter-chondrule material in the Gujba meteorite.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Krot, A., Amelin, Y., Cassen, P. et al. Young chondrules in CB chondrites from a giant impact in the early Solar System. Nature 436, 989–992 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03830
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03830
This article is cited by
-
Rapid formation of exoplanetesimals revealed by white dwarfs
Nature Astronomy (2022)
-
A chondrule formation experiment aboard the ISS: microtomography, scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy on Mg\(_2\)SiO\(_4\) dust aggregates
Physics and Chemistry of Minerals (2022)
-
Deciphering Redox State for a Metal-Rich World
Space Science Reviews (2022)
-
Distinguishing the Origin of Asteroid (16) Psyche
Space Science Reviews (2022)
-
Solar wind contributions to Earth’s oceans
Nature Astronomy (2021)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.