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Three days ago, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration teamed up with NASA in hopes of finding remains of pieces of a meteorite that slammed into the air. ocean in march. NASA had a pretty good idea of where the space rock had an impact on the ocean, but finding debris was still long. The team spent seven good hours exploring the seabed in the area of the meteorite impact, using a pair of robotic vehicles to scour the bottom of the ocean. very special rock signs. They collected a lot of equipment and used powerful magnets to hang what they hoped were the remains of the metal meteorite.
However, conclusively determining if part of the material was a piece of rock in space is a difficult task, and despite the high resolution video comes from the ocean bed, it is impossible to say exactly what were the rocks before raising them to the surface.
Once the samples came out of the water, the complicated task of sifting them began. Marc Fries of NASA, expect space documents and Cosmic Dust Curator (now it's a hell of a job!) Examined the different rocks that were collected and identified a pair of small pieces that seem to be the real deal.
The rocks are tiny, but include features badociated with a meteorite that survived its entry into our atmosphere. The brilliant "melting crust" that appears smooth on their surface suggests that they have endured the incredible friction of the earth 's atmosphere before finally plunging into the ocean.
Going forward, researchers will examine the fragments more closely and hope to conclusively determine that they are indeed from the space. If the rocks are indeed extraterrestrial, this will mark an incredible achievement for the expedition team, and a great victory for science as a whole.
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