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Space Turducken
Scientists have just found a piece of comet hidden in a rocky meteorite that has fallen to Earth.
Normally comets burn when they enter the Earth's atmosphere. In other words, according to Gizmodo this cosmic calzone constituted a protective shield around comet fragments, offering scientists a valuable opportunity to study the origins of the solar system.
Small samples
The meteorite in question is LaPaz Icefield 02342, which was found in Antarctica in 2002. This new survey of the composition of the meteorite, published Monday in the newspaperNature Astronomy, describes a thickness of 100 microns – the size of a thick human hair – carbon-rich segments that scientists suspect to be from a comet.
Without really knowing how the meteorite is formed, scientists can not deduce that it is a comet piece, Gizmodo. But based on what scientists know about comets and meteorites, researchers suspect a comet still in formation to collide with a meteorite that eventually fell to Earth.
Very few comets survive the descent on Earth. Therefore, if this is really what the scientists have discovered, it could give them a rare glimpse of the formation of celestial bodies.
READ MORE: Piece of comet found hidden inside a meteorite[[[[Gizmodo]
More on the space: Meteoroids hit the water of the moon
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