A few years ago in the Sahara desert meteorite found near Morocco which would not be strange if not for one unusual fact. Thousands of fragments of rock from space have been found on Earth so far, but for the first time there are strong suspicions that The meteorite found is actually from Earth.
Meteorite-boomerang, or the first such story
Scientists have no doubt that the rock came to Earth from space, but they do not rule out that it somehow broke away from the Earth and flew into space, only to return to it years later.
I think there is no doubt that we are dealing with a meteorite. Whether or not you really come from Earth remains a matter of debate
– said Frank Brenker, a geologist from the University of Goethe in Frankfurt.
Previous diagnostic tests have shown that the rock under study has the same chemical composition as volcanic rocks on Earth. Interestingly, however, it seems that several of its elements have been changed into lighter forms. This is known to be possible when exposed to cosmic rays, which geologists say has provided one of the key evidence for the rock’s journey beyond Earth.
The most likely scenario seems to be that the rock was thrown into space after another meteorite hit the Earth about 10,000 years ago. Another possibility is that it was launched so high during a volcanic eruption, but scientists point out the low probability of this happening.
However, many experts are still not convinced that the piece of rock was once part of the Earth and believe that a deeper analysis should be done before drawing such unusual conclusions. Rightly so, because the team responsible for the study of the meteorite NWA 13188 has not yet determined its age, and was tentatively cataloged as an achondrite, and members of this class are most commonly around 4.5 billion years old, the same age as the Solar System. Therefore, the studied rock, if it comes from Earth, would have to be much younger.
Another problem skeptics note is the lack of a large impact crater on Earth young enough to fit into the proposed timeline.
Look: Cosmic Auction. Anyone can buy a meteorite
Look: Russians remember space. A historic achievement within their reach
2023-07-24 12:39:00
#Boomerang #meteorite #left #Earth #returned
