Almahata Sitta meteorite: gamma-activity measurements at Monte dei Cappuccini Laboratory in Torino
2012
The asteroid 2008 TC3 was telescopically seen prior to entering Earth’s atmosphere
and was predicted to fall in Sudan on October 7, 2008, as it actually happened.
Subsequently, many fragments were collected from the Nubian desert. At Monte
dei Cappuccini Laboratory (IFSI, INAF) in Torino, using a selective gamma spectrometer
we measured gamma rays from fragment #15, one of the largest retrieved, a ureilite of mass
75 g. Six cosmogenic radionuclides have been measured (46Sc, 57Co, 54Mn, 22Na, 60Co and
26Al). 60Co and 26Al activities allowed us to deduce that the fragment was located at a depth
of 41�14 cm inside the 1.5–2m radius asteroid. Moreover, 22Na activity is slightly greater
than expected on the basis of the average cosmic ray flux and this could be ascribed to the
prolonged solar minimum preceding the meteorite fall.
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