David Clarke/EAARO
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The small rock that turned out to be part of an ancient meteorite was 4.6 billion years old.
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Nationalgeographic.co.id-A stone A small one found lying in a field in Gloucestershire in England may not be of interest to those passing through the area. However stone that small amount could actually contain important information regarding the formation Solar system and the origin of life itself.
Stone this is important because it did not form here on Earth, but originated somewhere beyond the orbit of Mars. Thrown away by gravitational interactions or collisions between asteroids, the rock fragments fall across the vastness outer space and ended up punching our atmosphere and then landing on Earth as meteorit.
Stone later known as meteorit This winchcombe may not be meteorit ordinary. Scientists are now conducting analyzes to determine its composition, in the hope of learning more about where it came from stone that and how it is formed.
“Internal structure stone it’s brittle and loosely bonded, porous with cracks and cracks,” said microscopist Shaun Fowler of Loughborough University in the UK.
“It seems stone “It hasn’t undergone thermal metamorphism, which means it has been out there, past Mars, untouched, since before any planet was created, which means we have the rare opportunity to examine a piece of our primordial past,” Fowlter said. Science Alert.
Stone the small is part of meteorit the same one that crashed on Winchcombe last March, is about 4.6 billion years old. This age is roughly the same age as Solar system. That means it is formed from the same clouds of dust and gas that give birth to the Sun and the planets.
While the planets Solar system has since undergone significant events and transformations, meteorit The one found in Gloucestershire has just emerged undisturbed in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Its loosely aggregated construction indicates that stone this does not undergo compaction due to repeated collisions.
Also Read: Small Green Rocks in Antarctica Warn of the Future of the Earth
Andrzej Wojcicki / Science Photo Library
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The discourse of an asteroid about to hit Earth and human efforts to prevent it was depicted in the 1998 film Armageddon.
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Fate then bricked the small stone landed in England. His arrival caused a stir. This rock is the first meteorite discovered in the UK in 30 years, as well as a rare type of meteorite, known as carbonaceous chondrite.
That means this rock is a rocky meteorite, not iron, which is mainly composed of carbon and silicon. These materials are less likely to withstand the rigors of the atmosphere than ferrous rock. This is why carbonaceous chondrites are few and far between on Earth.
The blackened stone will undergo a series of analyses, including electron microscopy, vibration spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. These techniques will help reveal the physical structure of the stone, as well as what it is made of.
“Most meteorites are composed of minerals such as olivine and phyllosilicates, with inclusions of other minerals called chondrule,” Fowler said.
Also Read: The World’s Oldest Water Finding Explains the Beginning of Life on Earth
“But its composition is different to anything you’d find on Earth and potentially unlike any other meteorite we’ve found — it may contain some previously unknown chemical or physical structure that hasn’t been seen in any other recorded meteorite sample.”
Less than five percent of all meteorites found on Earth are carbonaceous chondrites. Meteorites like these are highly sought after because they are rich in organic matter, and scientists believe they may contain clues to the origins of organic matter on Earth.
Other such pieces of space rock have yielded tantalizing clues to the origins of the building blocks of life, as well as water, but with so little available for study. Therefore, the researchers wanted more.
“Carbon chondrites contain organic compounds including amino acids, which are found in all living things,” said astrochemist Derek Robson of the East Anglian Astrophysical Research Organization (EAARO), who discovered the meteorite.
“Being able to identify and confirm the existence of such compounds from material that existed before Earth was born will be an important step towards understanding how life began.”
Derek Robson and his team are currently analyzing the stone further.
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