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Haba Lab
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The lab precisely dates meteorites to read the origins of the solar system.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring the solar system through its clocks.
The Haba Lab precisely analyzes the chemical composition and isotope ratios of meteorites to study how the solar system formed and evolved.
Meteorites are a "recording medium of the universe" that conveys information from the time the solar system had just formed.
Centered on dating and combining mineral observation with chemical analysis, the lab investigates when the parent bodies of meteorites formed and how they have changed.
The lab aims to depict the history of the solar system along the flow of time.
Key terms
- Isotope
- Atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei. Their masses differ slightly.
- Radiometric dating
- A method of determining when a rock or mineral formed, using the property that radioactive atoms change into other atoms at a constant rate.
- Extinct nuclide
- A radioactive atom that existed when the solar system formed but has since completely changed into other atoms and disappeared.
- Cosmic rays
- High-energy particles that fly through space. They create special isotopes inside the rocks they hit.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab uses meteorites to study a wide range of phenomena that occurred from the formation of the solar system to the present. Its work includes asteroid evolution, dating of giant impacts, dating with extinct nuclides, and the history of cosmic-ray exposure of meteorites.
*Illustrative imageFormation and Evolution of Protoplanets
The asteroid Vesta melted internally at the start of the solar system and differentiated into a core, mantle, and crust. Using meteorites believed to come from Vesta, the lab reads the history of heating, cooling, and impacts.
*Illustrative imageDating Giant Impacts
The lab precisely analyzes the ages and compositions of mesosiderites, meteorites made of roughly half metal and half rock, to study how they formed in giant impacts in the early solar system.
*Illustrative imageDating with Extinct Nuclides
By measuring tiny isotopic differences preserved in meteorites, the lab aims to establish a new dating method using extinct nuclides. It also explores the time between the last supernova explosion and the formation of the solar system.
*Illustrative imageHow Long Meteorites Traveled in Space
The lab examines the traces of cosmic rays that meteorites were exposed to between leaving their parent bodies and reaching Earth, mainly using noble gas isotopes, to determine how long they spent in space and the routes they took.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Haba Lab consist of faculty, master's and undergraduate students, and international students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorMakiko K. HabaPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images.
- Top image: “Eucrite (Vestan gabbro) (Tirhert Meteorite)” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Formation and Evolution of Protoplanets: “Vesta full mosaic” NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCAL/MPS/DLR/IDA / Public domain (cropped)
- Dating Giant Impacts: “Estherville meteorite, mesosiderite ( )” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Dating with Extinct Nuclides: “Keplers supernova” NASA/ESA/JHU/R.Sankrit & W.Blair / Public domain (cropped)
- How Long Meteorites Traveled in Space: “Cosmic Fireball Falling Over ALMA” ESO/C. Malin / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (癸生川研究室): “Carbonaceous chondrite (Murchison Meteorite) ( )” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (横山研究室): “Asteroid Ryugu (ann19006a)” JAXA, University of Tokyo & collaborators / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (上野雄一郎研究室): “Stromatolites at Hamelin Pool in Shark Bay - Western Australia - 27 Aug. 2014” Bryn Pinzgauer / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (石川研究室): “Lherzolite mantle xenolith in basalt (Afton Basalt Flow Upper Pleistocene, 15-20 ka; Kilbourne Hole Crater, Aden-Afton Basalt Field, Potrillo Volcanic Field, southwestern New Mexico, USA) ( )” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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