At this period, the orientation of the comet is such that the tail is foreshortened, with the prolonged radius vector pointing west of north. The close-up image, covering the inner 1 degree of the comet, shows a prolonged radius vector extending to the left. 243 Ida was acquired by the Galileo spacecraft just before the spacecraft made its close approach to the asteroid on August 28, 1993. This view shows numerous craters, including many degraded craters, indicating Ida's surface is older than previously thought. This meteorite was collected from the Allan Hills in Antarctica.
Meteorites are bits of rock that are captured by a planet's gravity and pulled to the surface.
This meteorite is of a type named chondrite and is thought to have formed at the same time as the planets in the solar nebula, about 4.55 billion years ago. Achondrite Meteorite Discovered at Reckling Peak, Antarctica, this type of meteorite is known as an achondrite. It has a basaltic composition and was probably formed when an asteroid melted about 4.5 billion years ago. The asteroid broke up some time later and this small piece of the asteroid was captured by Earth's gravity and fell to the ground. This iron meteorite was found at Derrick Peak, Antarctica.