Rheasilvia provenance of the Kapoeta howardite inferred from ∼1 Ga 40 Ar/ 39 Ar feldspar ages

We report 40Ar/39Ar ages for several lithological components of the brecciated howardite Kapoeta and compare the ages with results for asteroid 4 Vesta as observed by the Dawn mission. Our Kapoeta sample has an unusual, millimeter wide glass vein that intruded into a complex breccia. The plateau ages of three lithic clasts of basaltic composition that were remote from the glass vein range from 4.2 to 4.5 Ga. Such ages are typical of eucritic material; the oldest reflects early magmatic crystallization (∼4.5 Ga), the younger (4.2–4.5 Ga) reflect magmatism associated with protracted cooling. Samples of the glass vein itself, which include relict grains, give apparent ages between 3.1 and 3.9 Ga as do chips from the matrix. We consider both glass and bulk matrix ages as mixing ages; not marking the time of a single event, but dating regolith activity (<3.1–4.1 Ga).