Rare "Star Dust" found in Antarctic snow

Rare "Star Dust" found in Antarctic snow

Australian scientists have discovered cosmic dust in melted snow from the Antarctic, which contains a large amount of a rare isotope not found on Earth.

Experts claim that there is no chance that the Iron-60 isotope is manufactured by humans, which suggests that its presence on the planet is due to the fact that it is a human being. impact of a space rock.

Iron 60 contains 4 more neutrons than iron and is found in the earth's crust, but is generally not found in the atmosphere.

Scientists say that a rock containing material, coming from a star that exploded millions of years ago, had some effect on the Earth's atmosphere.

"These measurements are very difficult," said Bernhard Becker-Erinbrink, a geochemist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. "We basically calculate individual atoms."

The researchers melted about 500 kg of ice in Antarctica, eliminating iron 60 from nuclear power plants. Only a small amount was found in the South Pole.

They also studied other isotopes to exclude the 60-iron generated by cosmic rays, after interacting with dust or meteorites.

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Avi Loeb, a Harvard astronomer, explained that stellar meteorites are rare, but that "the smaller the object, the more abundant it is". In this spirit, the researchers say that the source of iron 60 should come from cosmic dust.

The complete results of the study were published in Physical Review Letters.

Source: Daily Mail