Scientists from Australia’s only nuclear reactor and a prestigious German research institute are working together in the Sutherland Shire to analyse meteorites - an international effort to answer big questions about the origins and behaviour of our solar system.
In this video, Uta Beyersdorf-Kuis, a cosmochemist and doctoral student from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) in Mainz, Germany, explains how Studying the cosmic ray exposure age of the chondrules helps to pin down timescales for the formation of asteroids and planetoids within our own solar system.
The Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) in Mainz, Germany, is working with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) in Lucas Heights, to analyse chondrules: minute, ancient pieces of space dust found in a meteorite.
Chondrules are about 1mm in diameter, were created before the planets in our solar system, and have survived unchanged for billions of years.
ANSTO’s part in the research has been to use the state-of-the-art OPAL research reactor to irradiate the chondrules and determine their elemental composition – specifically how much magnesium, aluminium, sodium, iron and other metals are in each chondrule.
Combining these results with measurements in Mainz of the gases trapped in the chondrules allows scientists to calculate how long the particle had been speeding through space exposed to cosmic rays - from when it was smashed from its parent body by a collision with a larger rock or asteroid, to when it landed on Earth.
While the research is still underway – the answer to date is that there was between four and seven million years between when the chondrules were ejected from their parent body and arrived here on Earth.
Studying the cosmic ray exposure age of the chondrules helps to pin down timescales for the formation of asteroids and planetoids within our own solar system.
“Our team has enjoyed the challenge of producing high quality measurements with such tiny samples, particularly when we needed to be able to send the chondrules safely back to Mainz after irradiation,” said ANSTO’s Neutron Activation Analysis Scientist, Attila Stopic.
“Although there are research reactors in Germany and Europe – the prestigious Max Planck Institute has chosen ANSTO and Australia as a partner to conduct their research – this is a huge vote of confidence in the science expertise we have right here in the Sutherland Shire.
“Our Neutron Activation Analysis capabilities are world class – and involve irradiating samples in the reactor, measuring the energy and intensity of signature gamma-rays given off afterwards – and using those results to quantify the amount of elements in the sample.
“This work is extraordinarily complex, detailed and precise – not to mention exciting. We will be looking to partner with other research organisations to do more of it in the future.”
Published: 28/08/2012