Two minerals never before seen on Earth found in 17-ton meteorite
Two minerals never before seen on Earth have been discovered in a massive meteorite in Somalia. They could hold important clues about how asteroids form.
The two brand new minerals were found inside a 2.5 ounce (70 gram) slice taken from the 16.5 ton (15 metric tons) El Ali meteorite that crashed into The Earth in 2020. Scientists named the mineral ellalite after the meteor and elkinstantonite after Lindy Elkins-Tanton (opens in new tab)the managing director of Arizona State University’s Interplanetary Initiative and principal investigator of NASA’s upcoming Psyche mission, which will send a probe to explore mineral-rich Psyche an asteroid for proof how our solar systemformed planets.
“Whenever you find a new mineral, it means that the actual geological conditions, the chemistry of the rock, was different from what was found before,” Chris Hurd (opens in new tab)professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta, said in statement (opens in new tab). “That’s what makes this exciting: In this particular meteorite, you have two formally described minerals that are new to science.”
Connected: Miners have just discovered the largest pink diamond in more than 300 years
The researchers classified El Ali as an iron IAB complex meteorite, a type made of meteoric iron interspersed with small pieces of silicates. While examining the meteorite piece, details about the new minerals caught the scientists’ attention. By comparing the minerals to versions of them that had previously been synthesized in a laboratory, they were able to quickly identify them as newly recorded in nature.
The researchers plan to study the meteorites further to understand the conditions under which their parent asteroid formed. “That’s my expertise — how to figure out the geological processes and the geological history of the asteroid that this rock was once a part of,” Hurd said. “I never thought I would be involved in describing brand new minerals just by working on a meteorite.”
The team is also looking at applications of minerals in materials science.
However, future scientific insights from the El Ali meteorite may be in jeopardy. The meteorite has now been moved to China in search of a potential buyer, which could limit researchers’ access to the space rock for study.
