HED meteorite facts for kids
The HED meteorites are a special group of space rocks called achondrites. Unlike most meteorites, these rocks don't have small, round grains inside them. They are thought to have come from the same place: a giant space rock called 4 Vesta.
The HED group includes several types of meteorites:
- Howardites
- Eucrites
- Diogenites
- Dunite
- Olivine Diogenites
Even though they are different types, scientists believe they all broke off from the crust of 4 Vesta. Their differences come from how they formed and changed over billions of years on Vesta.
Where Do HED Meteorites Come From?
Scientists believe that all HED meteorites came from the asteroid 4 Vesta. Vesta is one of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, a region between Mars and Jupiter. It's so big that it's shaped like a sphere, almost like a tiny planet!
When other asteroids or comets crashed into Vesta, pieces of its crust were blasted into space. Some of these pieces traveled all the way to Earth and landed as HED meteorites. Studying these meteorites helps us learn about Vesta's history and how rocky planets form.
How Old Are These Space Rocks?
Scientists can figure out the age of these meteorites by looking at tiny amounts of radioactive elements inside them. These elements decay over time, like a natural clock.
Using this method, scientists have found that HED meteorites are very, very old! They formed between 4.43 and 4.55 billion years ago. This means they are almost as old as our solar system itself! Studying them gives us clues about the early days of planets and asteroids.
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: HED (meteorito) para niños
