Madrid, November 29 (European Press) –
A team of researchers has discovered at least two new minerals never before seen on Earth in a 15-ton meteorite found in Somalia. The ninth largest ever found.
“When a new mineral is found, it means that the actual geological conditions, the chemistry of the rocks, were different than what was found before,” he says. It’s a statement Chris Hurd, Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Curator of the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Collection. Here’s what makes this exciting: In this particular meteorite there are two minerals that are officially described and are new to science.”
The two minerals were found from One piece weighing 70 grams was sent to this university for classificationAnd it appears that there is already a possible third metal under study. If researchers get more samples from the massive meteorite, Hurd says, there’s a chance they’ll find more.
The two newly discovered minerals are named elaliite and elkinstonite. The first got its name from the meteorite itself, nicknamed “Al-Ali” because it was found near the city of Al-Ali, in the Hieran region of Somalia. Herd named the mineral second after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, vice president of the ASU Interplanetary Initiative, professor at Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, and principal investigator on NASA’s upcoming Psyche mission.
“Linde has done a lot of work on how planetary cores form, and how these cores form from iron and nickel, and our closest isotope is iron meteorites. So it made sense to name a mineral after him and acknowledge his contributions to science.explains the herd.
In collaboration with researchers at UCLA and Caltech, Hurd classified the Al-Ali meteorite as an “iron complex IAB” meteorite. One of more than 350 in that particular category.
While Hurd was analyzing the meteorite for classification, he saw something that caught his attention. It drew on the experience of Andrew Lowcock, director of the Electron Microprobe Laboratory at the University of Arizona, who has been involved in other characterizations of new minerals, such as Heamanite (Ce).
He said: “On the first day he did some analyzes, he said: You have at least two new minerals in there. says the herd. “That was phenomenal. Most of the time it takes a lot more work than that to say there’s new metal.”
Lowcock’s quick identification was possible because the two minerals had been created synthetically earlier, so he was able to match the composition of the newly discovered natural minerals with their man-made counterparts.
Researchers continue to examine the minerals to identify them What can they tell us about the state of the meteorite when it formed?
While the meteorite’s future remains uncertain, Hurd says researchers have received word that it has It appears to have been taken to China in search of a potential buyer. It remains to be seen if additional samples will be available for scientific purposes..
Description of the flock results in Space Exploration Symposium 2022 It was held November 21-22 at the University of Alberta.
“Beer enthusiast. Subtly charming alcohol junkie. Wannabe internet buff. Typical pop culture lover.”