The fireball that lit up the sky over Britain and northern Europe on February 28 turned out to be an extremely rare type of meteorite. Fragments of space rock discovered in a driveway in the small town of Winchcombe could provide answers to questions about the early history of the solar system and life on Earth.
The moment of the flight of the cosmic rock was recorded by local surveillance cameras. I have to admit that these are unusual shots:
The meteorite that fell in front of the house in Winchombe is carbon chondrite. It is extremely common in space, and at the same time extremely rare on earth, because it is brittle and easily damaged by water. In this case, a lot of it was collected, as much as 300 grams. Moreover, it is the first meteorite in Great Britain since 1991!
Carbon chondrite is one of the most primitive and virgin materials in the solar system. It also contains organic material and amino acids – essential ingredients for life. The Natural History Museum in London said the fragments were recovered in such good condition and so quickly after a meteorite fall that they are comparable to rock samples from space missions, both in quality and quantity.
“I was shocked when I saw it. Right away I knew it was a rare meteorite and a completely unique event. It’s amazing to be the first to tell the people in front of you that the rumble they heard in the driveway at night is a meteorite, “said Richard Greenwood, a scientist in planetary science at The Open University, quoted in a statement by the museum. who identified the meteorite.
Museum officials explain that about 65,000 meteorites have been found on Earth to date. Only 1206 fell in front of the witnesses, and only 51 of them were carbon chondrites. This time the fireball was seen through thousands of eyewitnesses in Great Britain and Northern Europe and was captured incl. by backyard cameras when she fell to Earth on February 28.
The original space rock traveled at nearly 14 kilometers per second before it hit Earth’s atmosphere and eventually landed in the Winchcombe driveway. Other meteorite fragments have been found in the immediate area. Thanks to photos and recordings of witnesses, it was possible to quickly locate the meteorite and accurately determine where it came from in the solar system.
“Almost all meteorites reach us from asteroids, the remnants of the constituent elements of the solar system they can tell us how planets like Earth were formed. Being one of the first people to see and study a meteorite that was recovered almost immediately after its fall is a dream come true! “Said Ashley King, a scholar of future research and innovation leaders in the Earth Sciences department of the Natural History Museum.
(source: CNN)
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