Meteor shower 2019: A meteorite hitting Costa Rica is considered an "extraterrestrial mudball"

A meteoroid "the size of a washing machine" broke and rained on a Costa Rican town last month. Since then, it has been classified in the category "extraterrestrial mudball" that could provide information on the origin of our solar system, according to scientists.

Residents of Aguas Zarcas, a small town in Costa Rica, originally described the meteor as a "big fireball in the sky" when it first appeared on April 23. When the meteoroid entered the atmosphere, it pierced hundreds of meteorites that landed around the city. including a two-pound rock that crashed under someone's roof, smashing a dining room table.

Although dry meteorites are quite common, scientists have found that those that landed in Costa Rica were wet clay. The rare "carbonaceous chondrites" are rich in organic compounds and water, which could provide guidance on how to extract water from asteroids in the space.

An unusual meteorite shaped arrowhead from the Aguas Zarcas Falls, weighing 146.2 grams.

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"A lot of carbonaceous chondrites are mudballs made up of clay between 80 and 95%," said Laurence Garvie, research professor at the School of Earth and Space Exploration and curator of the Center for Meteorite Studies of the United States. Arizona State University. "Clays are important because water is an integral part of their structure."

Following the first reports, scientists ran to get a piece of history before the meteorites could be destroyed by rainfall. A total of 55 books were recovered.

Garvie said scientists around the world will study meteorites in the coming years, looking for insights into the history of the solar system. "Nature said" you are here "and we must now be smart enough to distinguish individual components and understand what they tell us," Garvie said.

Scientists have already determined where the meteorite comes from. "He trained in a lifeless environment, then was preserved in the cold and emptiness of space for 4.56 billion years, and then abandoned in Costa Rica," explained Garvie.

A major meteorite of carbonaceous chondrites has not landed on Earth for 50 years since arriving in Australia in 1969. It has subsequently become one of the most studied meteorites in the world.

"Carbonaceous chondrites are relatively rare among meteorites, but are among the most sought after by researchers because they contain the best preserved clues about the origin of the solar system," said Meenakshi Wadhwa, director of the center. "This new meteorite represents one of the most scientifically significant additions to our wonderful collection in recent years."