A meteorite 4.5 billion years old may reveal the secrets of life on Earth

Since its discovery in early 2021, scientists have been studying the Winscombe meteorite and understanding the minerals and chemistry in it to learn how the solar system formed.

Research on the meteorite that fell in the UK earlier this year indicates that the space rock was at the beginning of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago.

Now, the classification of the meteorite has been formalized, thanks in part to the STFC-funded studies.

The Wincombe meteorite is named after a city in Gloucestershire, 165 km from London, which is a very rare type of carbonaceous chondrite. It is a rocky meteorite rich in water and organic matter, and protects its chemistry from the formation of the solar system.

Scientists believe they are on the verge of revealing the planet’s appearance, following research into the rarest meteorite to fall in the UK earlier this year.

The Council for Scientific and Technical Facilities provided an emergency grant to fund the work of planetary scientists across the UK, and in this way the Natural History Museum was able to invest in sophisticated processing facilities to preserve the meteorite. Supports time-sensitive mineral and organic analyzes in specialized laboratories at leading companies in the country.

Preliminary analyzes show that Winscombe is a member of a group of carbon chondrites, such as Mickey, which is officially recognized by the Meteorological Association.

Dr. Ashley King, Future Leaders of the UKRI’s Department of Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum, said: “We are indebted to the Council for Scientific and Technical Facilitation. Was able to invest. “

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The meteorite was monitored using images and video footage of a collaborative fireball alliance or UKfall between the UK’s meteor camera networks. The pieces were then quickly found and recovered.

Dr Luke Daley, of the University of Glasgow, and co – chair of the fireball network said: “Investigating Winscombe is a dream come true. Many of us have spent our entire lives studying this rare type of meteorite.”

This funding led scientists to quickly begin to look for signs of water and organic matter in Winscombe.

Dr Queen Chan of the Royal Holloway in London added: ‘Preliminary analyzes of the teams confirm that there are a variety of organic substances in Winscombe. At the birth of the solar system, learn about how they come together to form Earth-like planets. “

Source: phys.org

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