Scientists have discovered a meteorite from the birth of the solar system

Scientists believe they have identified a meteorite formed in the first million years of our solar system, making it the oldest known meteor of volcanic origin.

The space rock, which began its journey about 4.5 billion years ago, has been “outstanding” evidence of the building blocks of the planets.

Known as Erg Chech 002, the meteorite was discovered in May 2020 by meteor hunters in the Algerian Sahara desert. He had rested undisturbed for “at least 100 years”, according to Jean-Alix Barrat, a geologist at the University of Brest in France.

In a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Barrat and his colleagues describe its discovery and several rare features.

There are 43 officially recorded fragments, but “probably about a hundred” are either still in the ground or uncounted, the study said. The largest ones are “as big as a fist,” Barrat told AFP.

With its green and brown interior, Erg Chech 002 may not look stunning at first glance. But it is, of course, very rare.

Of the approximately 65,000 meteorites recorded to date on Earth, only about 4,000 contain a “different subject”. This means that they came from square groups large enough to experience tectonic activity.

Of those 4,000, 95 percent come from just two asteroids. But Erg Chech 002 is among the remaining five percent.

“This is the only one out of 65,000 meteorites that is as it is,” Barrat said.

“Such rocks were very common at the beginning of the history of the solar system.”

There are two possible explanations for the rare Erg Chech 002.

The type of protoplanet it came from provided raw material “for the growth of terrestrial planets” such as Earth, Barrat said.

Others were crushed in the great cosmic billiard game in the creation of the solar system.

The lunar surface, full of countless asteroid effects, is relatively recent evidence of this second type of protoplanet.

“An asteroid does not share the celestial features of EC 002, indicating that almost all of these groups have become extinct, either because they have gone on to form blocks. construction of larger bodies or planets or that they have been destroyed, “the study said.

The “parent group” of Erg Chech 002 could be measured in approximately 100 kilometers in diameter.

It was created in the first million years of the solar system, according to the study’s co-authors, March Chaussidon, of the Paris Globe Institute of Physics and Johan Villeneuve, a researcher from the French National Center for Scientific Research at the University of Lorraine.

Metabolic meteorites “respond to the nucleus of protoplanets,” Barrat said.

But Erg Chech 002 has a volcanic origin, meaning it was part of the protoplanet crust, rather than its heart.

Experts believe that his special production was the result of a series of fortunate events.

On that protoplanet, lava must have accumulated on the surface, stimulated by the heat of its aluminum core.

The crust containing the meteorite was soon solidified but – as it showed evidence of sudden cooling – instead of remaining on the parent body, it was destroyed by a violent force.

“The rock was thrown into space,” Barrat said.

Further study of his situation found that Erg Chech 002 was created about 4.65 billion years ago.

It traveled through the aeons, “in a gravel shell, protected from solar radiation,” Barrat said.

Then, about 26 million years ago, the rock was eroded, continuing its path until it hit the Earth.

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