ESI’s UP123 Dates Asteroids

Electro Scientific Industries Inc. (ESI) of Portland, Ore., a provider of photonic and laser systems for microengineering applications, has announced that its New Wave Research (NWR) Div.’s UP213 laser ablation system enabled the dating of ancient asteroids at the University of Maryland’s department of geology. In conjunction with a high-resolution mass spectrometer, the UP213 system determined the age and elemental composition of two newly discovered ancient asteroidal fragments by measuring their isotopic ratios. The results could yield new insight into the early formation of our solar system.