Scientists have discovered a meteorite with minerals that do not exist on Earth
The 16.5 ton meteorite contained something impressive
Scientists have analyzed a meteorite that fell to Earth two years ago and discovered that it contains two minerals that do not exist on Earth.
Meteorites fall to Earth every day, but since most of the planet is covered in water, most of the space rock fragments fall into the ocean, and the remaining fragments that are lucky enough to reach the surface are rarely found by researchers. However, in 2020 a meteorite fell in Somalia and was handed over to researchers for analysis.
According to a press release, the meteorite weighed 16.5 tonnes and the relevant sample sent to the University of Alberta for classification was about 0.07kg (2.5 ounces). The university later concluded that it is a composite Iron IAB meteorite, which is a space rock composed of meteoric iron and silicate inclusions. It usually takes a long time for scientists to confirm a new mineral, but the process was sped up as the two new minerals found in the meteorite had already been created synthetically on Earth in the past.
As reported by livescience.com, the scientists named the minerals elaliite after the meteorite and elkinstantonite after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, director of Arizona State University’s Interplanetary Initiative and principal investigator of NASA’s upcoming Psyche mission, which will send a probe to to investigate the mineral-rich asteroid Psyche for clues about how our solar system’s planets formed.
Chris Herd, a professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and curator of the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Collection, explained that Elkins-Tanton has been instrumental in providing valuable research into the core of planets, as well as how they form. of iron-nickel cores.
Herd further explains that it “made sense ” to name a mineral after her “and to recognize her contribution to science “.
While there is certainly more research that can be done on the extremely interesting meteorite, reports suggest that it has been moved to China, where a potential buyer will be sought. It is unknown if the new buyer will be able to get more samples from the meteorite.
