Discovery of Rare Meteorite in Australia’s Goldfields Area

KOMPAS.com – In 2015, a man named David Hole searched Maryborough Regional Park near Melbourne, Australia using a metal detector.

Unexpectedly, he found something unusual, namely a very heavy stone, reddish in color, and lying in yellow clay.

Hole then took it home and tried various ways to break the stone because he was sure there were gold nuggets in the stone.

The reason is, Maryborough is in the Goldfields area, a place for gold mining in Australia which reached its peak in the 19th century.

To break up the rock he found, Hole tried using a rock saw, angle grinder, drill, and even doused the object with acid. However, nothing could create a gap in the stone.

Also read: What is a Meteorite?

Several years later, Hole learned that the stone he found was not a gold nugget, but a rare meteorite.

More valuable than gold nuggets

According to Melbourne Museum geologist Dermot Henry, the rocks were formed when they passed through the atmosphere so that their outer parts melted and the atmosphere molded them.

Even though he couldn’t break the stone, Hole was still curious and then took it to the Melbourne Museum to be identified.

Henry claimed to have seen many rocks that people thought were meteorites. However, in 37 years of working at the museum and examining thousands of rocks, Henry said only two of the finds were real meteorites.

Researchers have published a scientific paper identifying a 4.6 billion year old meteorite, which they named Maryborough.

It weighed up to 17 kilograms, and after using a diamond saw to cut a small piece, researchers discovered its composition had a high percentage of iron.

Also read: 4.6 Billion Year Old Meteorite Reveals the Origin of Water on Earth

Once open, small droplets of metallic minerals crystallize inside, called chondrules, are visible.

According to Henry, meteorites provide the easiest form of space exploration. The rocks can take us back in time, providing clues about the age, formation and chemistry of the solar system.

Some meteorites provide a glimpse of the Earth’s interior. Some meteorites contain ‘stardust’ that is even older than the solar system, indicating the process by which stars formed and evolved.

Researchers argue that the Maryborough meteorite is much rarer than gold and therefore much more valuable to science.

This meteorite is one of 17 meteorites ever recorded in the Australian state of Victoria, and is the second largest chondritic mass, after a large 55 kilogram specimen identified in 2003.

Also read: Weighing 7.6 kg, this is the largest meteorite found in Antarctica

Where did the meteorites come from?

Although researchers don’t yet know where the meteorite came from and how long it has been on Earth, they have several guesses.

The Solar System was once a swirling pile of dust and chondrite rock. Eventually, gravity pulled most of this material into planets, but the remains mostly ended up in huge asteroid belts.

Henry explained that this meteorite most likely came out of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and was pushed out of there by several asteroids that collided with each other, then hit Earth.

Carbon dating shows the meteorite has been on Earth between 100 and 1,000 years, and there were a number of meteor sightings between 1889 and 1951, which may be related to its arrival on Earth.

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2023-11-24 08:30:00
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