[ad_1]
TORONTO – A 4.6 billion-year-old meteorite discovered this spring in the UK predates our solar system, researchers say, and could provide information on how life on Earth came to be.
The tiny meteorite was found in a Gloucestershire field, resting in a horseshoe print. It was spotted by Derek Robson, director of astrochemistry at the East Anglian Astrophysical Research Organization (EAARO), who was searching for fragments of a meteorite with a team of space researchers after a “fireball brilliant yellow-green “crossed the sky in late February, according to an EAARO Facebook post.
The team had been given special permission to search for meteorite fragments during a COVID-19 lockdown. About a month after the fireball lit up the sky, a dark stone was spotted by Robson, shining iridescent in the mud.
Robson and EAARO, along with scientists from Loughborough University, are studying the rock, which is believed to have traveled a distance of over 177 million kilometers to reach Earth from its home of origin in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
But it’s not the distance that interests scientists – it’s the age of the meteorite and the unusual substances it contains.
This meteorite is believed to have existed before the planets in our solar system came together.
“It does not appear to have undergone thermal metamorphism, which means it has remained out there, beyond Mars, intact, since before one of the planets was created, which means we have the rare opportunity to examine a piece of our primordial past. ” Shaun Fowler, an electron microscopy specialist at the Loughborough Materials Characterization Center, said in a press release.
“It’s a scientific fairy tale,” Sandie Dann, professor at Loughborough University, said in the statement. She has known Robson since 1997. “First your friend tracks down a meteorite, then finds it and then offers you some of this alien material to analyze.
“At this point we’ve learned a lot about it, but we’ve barely scratched the surface. “
Using tools such as electron microscopes to observe the texture of the meteorite’s surface in great detail, scientists began to compile the chemical structure and composition of the meteorite.
The meteorite belongs to the classification of “carbonaceous chondrites”, which includes only 5% of meteorites that fall on Earth. Chondrite is one of two types of stony meteorites, while carbonaceous chondrite refers to the makeup of the meteorite itself. These meteorites often contain ancient organic matter.
“Carbonaceous chondrites contain organic compounds, including amino acids, that are found in all living things,” Robson said in the statement.
“Being able to identify and confirm the presence of such compounds from material that existed before Earth was born would be an important step in understanding how life began.”
Fowler said the majority of the meteorite is made up of minerals “such as olivine and phylloscilicates” as well as round grains commonly found in chondrites called chondrules.
“But the makeup is unlike anything you might find here on Earth and potentially unlike any other meteorite we’ve found – possibly containing chemistry or physical structure never before seen in other meteorite samples. recorded, “he added.
If the meteorite’s organic compounds could be identified and further studied, it could add credence to the theory that meteorites brought key amino acids to the Earth’s surface in its early days, adding the building blocks of life. to the “primordial soup” of the Earth.
Jason Williams, EAARO chief executive and a member of the team that went in search of the meteorite, said in the Facebook post that it is important to analyze the meteorite samples as soon as possible when they are contain “volatile organic compounds”.
“When preserving the meteorite fragments, we noticed that they gave off a strong odor which we believe indicates the presence of volatile organic substances which can provide exciting insight into the origin of this material and the early solar system. “, did he declare.
The University of Sheffield, along with foreign specialists, will also help EAARO analyze the meteorite, working to uncover any secrets this ancient piece of our solar system may hold.
[ad_2]
Source link