Meteorite from the first solar system found in the person’s driveway

We know Development stopped hasn’t been there for a while, but we think it would be a great time for a “that was a gift” from Lucille. Because a resident of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire in England recovered an extremely rare type of meteorite in their driveway, which may give us insight into the early solar system. As well as offering the same kind of gear that would otherwise require a billion dollar space mission to recover.

Smithsonian magazine reported the recently discovered meteorite, which the Winchcombe resident recovered from a recent fireball event. The meteor that caused the trail of fire in the sky flew over the UK on February 28. Multiple cameras captured the event, allowing videos like the one immediately below.

Scientists say the meteorite is a carbonaceous chondrite. This type of meteorite is an extant rock from the first solar system and is perhaps the rarest type; containing up to 5% carbon in various forms, including organic matter. As well as “exotic” grains of diamond and graphite before the birth of the Sun.

“It’s really exciting,” Museum researcher Professor Sara Russel said in a press release. “There are about 65,000 known meteorites all over the world, and of these, only 51 are carbonaceous chondrites that have been seen falling like this.”

Natural History Museum

The 300 gram meteorite likely contains soft clay minerals, which would suggest the presence of frozen water ice from the past. The meteorite can even contain amino acids, which are the “building blocks” of life.

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“Meteorites like this are relics of the early solar system, which means they can tell us what planets are made of,” Russel added in the press release. “But we also believe that meteorites like this may have brought water to Earth, providing the planet with its oceans.”

Natural History Museum

Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the meteorite, however, is how difficult it would have been to recover something materially similar from space. The OSIRIS-REx sample return mission, for example, recently sent a spacecraft to an asteroid to retrieve the same type of meteorite. And this mission cost nearly $ 1.2 billion. Which means that this discovery was not just a gift: it was a astronomical freebie.

Featured Image: Natural History Museum

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