The discovery of two minerals never before seen on Earth in a giant 16.5-tonne meteorite gave researchers possible clues to how space rocks were formed.
The brand new minerals were found in a 2.5-ounce slice of the El Ali meteorite in Somalia, which was discovered in 2020 and is the ninth largest meteorite ever discovered. University of Alberta said in a news release. Meteorites are meteorites that survive through the Earth’s atmosphere and land on the ground. According to NASA.
Meteorite samples were taken and sent to the University of Alberta for classification, where researchers discovered the mineral. The researchers also said they may have identified a third new mineral, although it is still being studied. The findings were presented at the university’s Space Exploration Symposium on November 2. 21 and 22.
“When you find a new mineral, it means that the actual geological conditions, the chemistry of the rock, are different from those found before,” said Chris Herd, curator of the University of Alberta Meteorite Collection and professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences. said in a statement. “That’s what makes it exciting: There are two officially identified minerals in this particular meteorite that are new to science.”
Herd knew from the first time he observed that there was something unique in my tongue, the university said, so he called his colleague Andrew Locock, who had been involved in mineral identifications before. The minerals were obtained synthetically. Therefore, Locock confirmed the new minerals by comparing the compositions of natural and man-made minerals.
One of the minerals was named elaliite, in reference to the name of the meteorite from the region in which it was found in Somalia. The other is named elkistantonite in honor of Lindy Elkins-Tanton, vice president of Arizona State University’s Interplanetary Initiative and principal investigator on it. NASA’s upcoming Psyche missionIt will attempt to send an orbiter to the metal-rich asteroid in 2023.
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New minerals may have new uses
The university, with the help of researchers at UCLA and the California Institute of Technology, has classified the meteorite as an “Iron, IAB complex” meteorite, and is one of 350 such meteorites.
The researchers will run further tests on the minerals, when they are known as meteorites, in hopes that they will provide insight into the conditions inside the meteorite when it formed. The publication says that if more samples of the meteorite can be obtained, there may be other unique minerals to be discovered on our planet that could lead to new uses.
“When a new material is known, materials scientists are also interested because of its potential uses in a wide variety of things in society,” Herd said. Said.
Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.
