| Abstract: | We discuss the possibility that CI and CM carbonaceous chondrites are fragments of extinct cometary nuclei. Theoretical and
observational work suggests that comets evolve into asteroids, and several extinct cometary nuclei are now suspected to be
among the near Earth object population. This population is the most likely source of meteorites and consequently, we may expect
that some meteorites are from extinct comets in this population. The mineralogy and chemistry of CI and CM chondrites is consistent
with the view that they originate from asteroidal objects of carbonaceous spectral classes, and these objects in turn may
have a cometary origin. We do not suggest that CI or CM chondrites are directly delivered by active comets during perihelion
passage or that these chondrites come from cometary debris in meteor streams. Instead, we summarize arguments suggesting that
CI and CM chondrites represent fragments of cometary nuclei which evolved into near Earth asteroids after losing their volatiles.
This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. |
