The Origin of the Annama Meteorite Sheds Light on Dangerous Projectiles and Fireballs

Astronomers may have determined the orbit of Annama, a meteorite that was characterized from a fireball that occurred April 19 2014. The new findings reveal a bit more about meteorites in general.

The orbits of only 22 meteorites total are known to scientists. That's why researchers wanted to better understand Annama after its fiery display last April.

In order to better understand Annama's orbit, they compared its orbit with the evolution of a dozen orbits of near-Earth asteroids, reconstructing how their orbits evolved in the solar system over the past 10,000 years. Through this method, the scientists determined the degree of orbital similarity and established whether objects had a common origin.

The scientists reconstructed the trajectory of the fireball and calculated the location of the fall using data from three different stations. They compared this with the reconstructed orbital evolution of the meteorite in order to find orbital similarity of the present time.

The findings revealed a "disturbing similarity" with the evolution of 2014 UR116 which, given its size and minimum distance of intersection with the orbit of Earth, has been classified as a potentially dangerous asteroid.

"While it is true that many of these dangerous projectiles come from the main belt of asteroids after being gravitationally scattered towards the Earth by the so-called planetary resonances, in 2007 we proposed other physical mechanisms that enable these rocks to be detached from asteroids or comets as they undergo close approaches to our planet," said Josep Maria Trigo, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The tidal effect on an asteroid, which rapidly rotates under the gravitational field of a planet, can fragment these objects or release large rocks from its surface, which could then bedcome such dangerous projectiles at a local scale as the one fell in Cheliabinsk (Russia) on February 15 2013."

The findings are published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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