Meteorite

In January 2014, a meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere in the Western Pacific, as evidenced by apparent vibrational signatures of the event in a seismic station in Papua New Guinea. Last year, scientists declared rubble recovered from the ocean floor as the rejectamenta of that event (and some even speculated it was a form of alien technology). But now, another team offers a different interpretation: the vibrations were caused by a truck on a nearby road, driving by at the same time the meteor plummeted through the…

The story of the Chinguetti meteorite is a very compelling mystery.The 4.5-kilogram (10 pound) stony-iron rock was reportedly taken from the top of a giant 100-meter-wide (328 foot) iron mountain – suggested to be a huge meteorite – in Africa back in 1916.In spite of numerous searches, the existence of this larger parent meteorite has never been confirmed. Now, a team of researchers are back on the trail.If it exists, this iron mountain would represent the largest meteorite on the planet by some distance – and scientists…

A bracelet and possible sword pommel found in a 3,000-year-old treasure hoard were forged from meteoritic iron, according to a team of researchers that recently studied the pieces. In other words, yes: some Bronze Age Iberian was rocking space jewelry and wielding a space weapon.Former NASA Astronaut Leland Melvin on the “Overview Effect”The iron was discovered 50 years ago, when the archaeologist José María Soler found the treasure hoard buried under a boulevard in Villena, Spain. The trove consisted of 66 pieces of gold…

On January 21st, 2024, a meter-sized asteroid (2024 BX1) entered Earth's atmosphere and exploded over Berlin at 12:33 am UTC (07:45 pm EST; 04:33 pm PST).Before it reached Earth, 2024 BX1 was a Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) with an orbit that suggests it was part of the Apollo group.The fragments have since been located by a team of scientists from the Freie Universität Berlin, the Museum für Naturkunde (MfN), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Technische Universität Berlin, and the SETI Institute and identified as a…

Meteorites, remnants of asteroids, are crucial for understanding our solar system’s history, acting as time capsules that preserve primordial material. Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery in the Winchcombe meteorite, identifying key nitrogen compounds, including amino acids and hydrocarbons, without chemical treatments, using a novel detector design. This finding, significant for research into life’s origins on Earth, was facilitated by a high-resolution electron microscope at the SuperSTEM laboratory. This…

When you think of the Moon, the adjective "damp" generally doesn't spring to mind.Earth's natural satellite is known to be very dry; a gray ball of gunpowder-scented dust and ancient volcanic rock. It's been a long time since anyone thought there might be an ocean of liquid water up there.Yet the Moon isn't as devoid of water as appearances suggest… and early in its history, it may have been wetter still.According to a new analysis of a meteorite determined to have originated on the Moon, the lunar crust was once far…

Locals watched in awe as a fireball exploded and hundreds of meteorite fragments rained down on the city of Tatahouine, Tunisia, on June 27, 1931.Fittingly, the city later became a major filming location of the Star Wars movie series. The desert climate and traditional villages became a huge inspiration to the director, George Lucas, who proceeded to name the fictional home planet of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader "Tatooine".The mysterious 1931 meteorite, a rare type of achondrite (a meteorite that has experienced…

Doug Olson heard a loud thud on his roof while folding laundry in October last year. When he went out to investigate the cause of the sound, he didn't find anything out of the ordinary. But earlier this spring, while cleaning out his rain gutters on the roof of his Mill Woods home, Olson discovered a small grey and black rock. Turns out, the rock is a meteorite from space. "I was thinking, 'jeez how come I couldn't find it back when I was looking the first time?'" Olson said on Friday. Named the Menisa, the discovery…

Over the course of its 4.5 billion years of existence, Earth has encountered an untold number of extraterrestrial bodies hurtling through its atmosphere. Some have disintegrated before reaching the surface, while others have left indelible marks on our planet, with one historic impact event leading to the extinction of an entire species (cue: the dinosaurs). According to The Weather Channel, India currently has three of these ancient cosmic scars, known as meteor impact craters: Ramgarh in Rajasthan, Lonar in…

The meteorite NWA 13188 was found in Morocco in 2018.Photo: Albert JambonFive years ago, a partially crusted, dark red meteorite crashed in the Sahara desert and was sold in Morocco. Meteorites, almost exclusively, are of extraterrestrial origin, but this chunk seemed weirdly familiar, leading scientists to believe that it originated from the same planet where it ended up thousands of years later. What Is Planet Nine and Why Can’t We Find It?During the 2023 Goldschmidt Conference on geochemistry, held from July 9 to 14…