Rare meteorites could hold the secret of life on earth

news/tmb/2021/rare-meteorite-could-h.jpg" data-src="https://scx2.b-cdn.net/gfx/news/2021/rare-meteorite-could-h.jpg" data-sub-html="An image of one of the fragments of the Winchcombe meteorite. Credit: Trustee of the Natural History Museum">

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Thanks to funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), scientists are ready to uncover the secrets of rare meteorites and the possible origins of the oceans and life on earth.

Research about meteorit, which crashed in the UK earlier this year, suggests that the space rock originated in the early solar system 4.5 billion years ago.

The meteorite has now been officially classified, thanks in part to a STFC-funded sample study.

The Winchcombe meteorite, aptly named for the Gloucestershire town where it landed, is an extremely rare species known as carbon chondrite. It is a rocky meteorite, rich in water and organic matter, which retains its chemical properties from the formation of the solar system. Preliminary analysis showing that Winchcombe was a member of the CM (“Mighei-like”) group of carbonaceous chondrites has now been officially approved by the Meteoritical Society.

STFC provides emergency grants to fund the work of planetary scientists across the UK. The funding has allowed the Natural History Museum to invest in a state-of-the-art curation facility to preserve meteorites, and has also supported time-sensitive mineralogy and organic analysis in the specialized laboratories of some of the UK’s leading institutions.

dr. Ashley King, UK Fellow of Future Research and Innovation Leaders (UKRI) in the Department of Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum, said, “We are grateful for the funding provided by STFC. Winchcombe was the first meteorite to fall.” in England for 30 years and the first carbonaceous chondrites were discovered in our country. Funding from STFC assists us in this unique opportunity to discover the origins of water and life on earth. Funding has allowed us to use the state-of-the-art equipment that has contributed to our analysis and exploration of the Winchcombe Meteorite.”

The meteorite was tracked using images and video from the UK Fireball Alliance (UKFAll), a collaboration between the UK Meteor Camera Network, including the UK Fireball Network, which is funded by STFC. The fragments are then quickly found and retrieved. Since its discovery, British scientists have studied Winchcombe to understand its mineralogy and chemistry, and to learn more about how the solar system formed.

dr. Luke Daly of the University of Glasgow and Co-Head of the UK Fireball Network said: “Being able to study Winchcombe is a dream come true. Many of us have spent our entire careers studying this rare type of meteorite including on NASA’s Hayabusa2 and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx missions, which aim to bring pure samples of carbonaceous asteroids back to Earth so that the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites fall in the UK and be rediscovered. so fast and in known orbit is a truly special event and a fantastic opportunity for the UK planetary research community.”

Funding from the STFC allows scientists to immediately begin looking for signs of water and organics in Winchcombe before they can be contaminated by the terrestrial environment.

dr. Queenie Chan of Royal Holloway, University of London added, “The team’s initial analysis confirms that Winchcombe contains a wide variety of organic ingredients! Investigating the meteorite just weeks after it crashed, before significant terrestrial contamination occurred, means we’re really looking. earth. “

A piece of the Winchcombe meteorite discovered during an organized search by the British planetary research community is now on display at London’s Natural History Museum.

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