Black Rock from Morocco: A Meteorite’s Journey from Earth to Outer Space and Back

Scientists seek to confirm that a black rock discovered in Morocco in 2018 left the earth’s clouds for outer space, to return to it as a stray child, according to “Russia Today”.

This rock – officially called “Northwest Africa (NWA) 13188” – will be the first meteorite to make this round trip.

NWA 13188’s bubbling appearance, crystal texture, and delicate chemical composition strongly hint at the type of rock that is formed from molten minerals produced by volcanoes near Earth’s sinking ocean slabs. According to Jerome Gacheca, a geophysicist from the French National Centre, the rock has gone through a journey that has seen it spend a long time in orbit.