Linked Life Data

20428164

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/20428164

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
7293
pubmed:dateCreated
2010-4-29
pubmed:abstractText
It has been suggested that Earth's current supply of water was delivered by asteroids, some time after the collision that produced the Moon (which would have vaporized any of the pre-existing water). So far, no measurements of water ice on asteroids have been made, but its presence has been inferred from the comet-like activity of several small asteroids, including two members of the Themis dynamical family. Here we report infrared spectra of the asteroid 24 Themis which show that ice and organic compounds are not only present on its surface but also prevalent. Infrared spectral differences between it and other asteroids make 24 Themis unique so far, and our identification of ice and organics agrees with independent results that rule out other compounds as possible sources of the observed spectral structure. The widespread presence of surface ice on 24 Themis is somewhat unexpected because of the relatively short lifetime of exposed ice at this distance ( approximately 3.2 au) from the Sun. Nevertheless, there are several plausible sources, such as a subsurface reservoir that brings water to the surface through 'impact gardening' and/or sublimation.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Apr
pubmed:issn
1476-4687
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
29
pubmed:volume
464
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1320-1
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2010
pubmed:articleTitle
Water ice and organics on the surface of the asteroid 24 Themis.
pubmed:affiliation
University of Central Florida, PO Box 162385, Orlando, Florida 32816-2385, USA. campins@physics.ucf.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't