2024 BX1 - Misplaced Pages

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52°37′15″N 12°45′40″E / 52.62083°N 12.76111°E / 52.62083; 12.76111

2024 BX₁
Discovery
A fragment of 2024 BX1
Discovered by	Krisztián Sárneczky
Discovery site	Piszkéstető Stn.
Discovery date	20 January 2024
Designations
MPC designation	2024 BX₁
Alternative designations	Sar2736, Ribbeck
Minor planet category	NEO · Apollo
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 13 September 2023 (JD 2460200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 6
Observation arc	2.49 h (150 min)
Aphelion	1.833 AU
Perihelion	0.835 AU
Semi-major axis	1.334 AU
Eccentricity	0.3740
Orbital period (sidereal)	1.54 yr (563.0 d)
Mean anomaly	246.680°
Mean motion	0° 38 22.038 / day
Inclination	7.266°
Longitude of ascending node	300.141°
Argument of perihelion	243.604°
Earth MOID	0.000532 AU (79,600 km)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	44 cm 40–60 cm
Mass	140 kg >1.8 kg
Spectral type	E-type asteroid
Absolute magnitude (H)	32.795±0.353 32.84

2024 BX₁, previously known under its temporary designation Sar2736, was a metre-sized asteroid or meteoroid that entered Earth's atmosphere on 21 January 2024 00:33 UTC and disintegrated as a meteor over Berlin. It was discovered less than three hours before impact by Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky at Konkoly Observatory's Piszkéstető Station in the Mátra Mountains, Hungary. It was observed with the 60 cm Schmidt Telescope. Sárneczky first thought it was a known asteroid because it had a brightness of 18th magnitude, but he could not find it in any catalog, so he reported it to the Minor Planet Center. The fireball was observed by the cameras of the AllSky7 and Fripon networks. 2024 BX₁ is the eighth asteroid discovered before impacting Earth, and is Sárneczky's third discovery of an impacting asteroid. Before it impacted, 2024 BX₁ was a near-Earth asteroid on an Earth-crossing Apollo-type orbit.

The bolide was studied in June 2024. It had a steep entry of 75.6° and an entry speed of 15.20 km/s. The bolide was observed with the SDAFO at Tautenburg, which took a spectrum of the bolide. The spectrum was low in iron, consistent with an enstatite-rich body (E-type asteroid). At a hight of 55 km the meteoroid fragmented into smaller pieces. These primary pieces then broke up again at a height of 39-29 km. The size and mass were first estimated at 1 meter and 1700 kg based on albedos of S-type asteroids. The radiometric measurements from the European Fireball Network did however suggest a mass of about 100 kg. Considering it was an E-type asteroid, which have higher albedos, the new estimates are 0.44 meters and 140 kg.

Meteorite fragments of 2024 BX₁ were found five days after it entered the Earth's atmosphere. Searches were conducted by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Berlin universities, members of the Meteor Working Group and meteorite hunters. The first samples were found by Polish searchers close to the village Ribbeck (Nauen). It was later found to be an aubrite, a rare group of meteorites. An analysis of the spectrum at UV–mid-infrared wavelengths found that the sample is consistent with aubrites. It also showed that it had similar 0.5/0.9 μm band depths when compared to (434) Hungaria, hinting at a possible linkage. A study from July 2024 describe the meteorite fragments that are called Ribbeck. About 200 pieces were collected, totalling in about 1.8 kg. The study measured short-lived radionuclides in the samples AKM01 and AKM05. Ribbeck is consistent with a brecciated aubrite. The samples are made up of 76 ±3 vol% nearly FeO-free enstatite, 15.0 ±2.5 vol% albitic plagioclase, 5.5 ±1.5 vol% fosterite and 3.5 ±1.0 vol% of opaque phases (mainly sulfides and metals, such as kamacite), with traces of nearly FeO-free diopside and K-feldspar. The researchers found that the plagioclase fragments in Ribbeck formed from coarse-grained magmatic rock that cooled slowly and that were fragmented by impacts on the parent body. The albitic plagioclase content is one of the highest among all aubrites, similar to the aubrite of Bishopville (see Meteorite fall). This causes Europium measurements to be higher in both meteorites. It is suggested that 2024 BX₁ belongs to the Hungaria family and therefore is similar to the E/X-type asteroids. The rock showed signs of shock metamorphism and terrestrial weathering. The 4 days of weathering in the snow/melted snow gave the samples a brown color and the breakdown of sulfides gave the samples a smell of hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell). Some minerals (oldhamite, a Cr-rich phase and a Ti-rich phase) showed strong alteration, but it is unclear if this happened partially before the meteorite impact or if it is only due to weathering. The researchers estimated that the parent body of Ribbeck is 4.5 billion years old. Aubrites formed very early within a few Million years after the formation of calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions (~4.56 billion years old) and for Ribbeck ages were determined with the help of K–Ar dating (~3.3–3.7 billion years) and Uranium/Thorium-Helium dating (~2.3–2.5 billion years). These younger ages are indications for impact events.

Researchers described the meteorite fragments as "cosmic pears", in remembrance of the ballad Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland by Theodor Fontane. . According to the ballad Ribbeck gave pears to passing children and after his death a legendary pear tree did grow on his grave, providing children with free pears.

Exhibition

The meteorite was exhibited at the Natural History Museum in Berlin for a few weeks in March 2024.

Gallery

2024 BX₁ bolide on 21 January 2024 over Berlin
Sample of Ribbeck found after 6 days and showing terrestrial alteration, giving the sample a brown color
$Olivine in Ribbeck, showing fracture lines, indicative of shock metamorphism$ Olivine in Ribbeck, showing fracture lines, indicative of shock metamorphism
Thin sections of 2024 BX₁ samples, with enstatite crystals (En), olivine (Ol), plagioclase (Plag) and metal (Met)