The oldest meteorite ever found: 4.6 billion-year-old space rock discovered in Sahara could shed light on early solar system
- Experts analyzed a meteorite discovered last year in the Sahara desert
- The rock weighs 70 kilograms and is brown with green spots everywhere
- It consists mostly of volcanic rocks, but also silicon dioxide found on Earth
- Named EC 002, it is 4.6 billion years old and was once part of an early planet
An ancient meteorite or achondrite was discovered in the Sahara desert last year, which has now been identified as a piece of a protoplanet that formed before Earth came into existence.
The space rock, called EC 002, is 4.6 billion years old and is mostly made up of volcanic rocks, which leads experts to believe that it came from the crust of a very early planet.
The team of French and Japanese scientists determined that the rock was once liquid lava, but cooled and solidified over 100,000 years to form the 70-kilogram piece that eventually made its way. to our planet.
The researchers also note that no asteroids with similar properties have been found, suggesting that the protoplanet from which it originated has since either become part of larger bodies or “simply destroyed.”
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An ancient chondrite was discovered in the Sahara desert last year, which has now been identified as a piece of a protoplanet that formed before Earth came into existence. The stony meteorite, called EC 002, is 4.6 billion years old
Anchondrites come from early planetary bodies that reformed from molten fragments and were thrown into space as a result of another collision.
These rocks also resemble those on Earth at first sight, considering them a rare discovery in the scientific community.
The latest anchorite was named after the landing site on the Erg Chech dune in Algeria, which consists of several meteorites weighing about 70 kilograms, Motherboard reports.
Only a few thousand of them have been analyzed, most of which are basaltic, but EC 002 is made mostly of volcanic rocks – making it rich in sodium, iron and magnesium.
The rock is mostly made up of volcanic rocks, which leads experts to believe that it came from the crust of a very early planet. The team describes EC 002 as “relatively coarse-grained, brown and beige”, noting that it was also spotted with yellow and green pieces.
The most recent anchovy was named after the landing site in the Algerian dune Erg Chech, which consists of several meteorites weighing about 70 kilograms.
Given this, the team says that EC 002 “is also the oldest magnetic stone ever observed.”
Researchers determined their age by studying the rock’s magnesium and aluminum isotopes, which showed it formed about 4.566 billion years ago – while the Earth is said to be 4.543 billion years old.
The team describes EC 002 as “relatively coarse-grained, brown and beige”, noting that it was also spotted with yellow and green pieces.
They also observe that when they looked at other celestial bodies, focusing on their wavelengths, they found nothing that matched the wavelength reflected by EC 002.
The meteorite is also 58% silicon dioxide, which makes it even rarer than others previously found on Earth, because this mineral is commonly found in volcanic regions on our planet.
“Protoplanets covered with andesitic crusts were probably dense,” the team wrote in the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“However, no asteroid shares the spectral features of EC 002, indicating that almost all of these bodies have disappeared, either because they continued to form the building elements of larger bodies or planets, or have simply been destroyed. ”