The oldest meteorite ever found: a 4.6 BILLION-year-old space rock discovered in the Sahara could bring light to the primitive solar system
- Experts analyzed a meteorite discovered last year in the Sahara desert
- The rock weighs 70 kilos and is brown with green spots
- It consists mainly of volcanic rock, but also of silicon dioxide found on Earth
- Called EC 002, it is 4.6 billion years old and was part of an early planet
Last year a desert, a meteorite or acondrite, was discovered in the Sahara Desert, which has now been identified as part of a protoplanet that formed before the Earth existed.
The space rock, called EC 002, dates back 4.6 billion years and is made up mainly of volcanic rock, leading experts to believe it came from the crust of a very early planet.
The team of French and Japanese scientists determined that once the rock was liquid lava, but it cooled and solidified for 100,000 years to form the 70-pound piece that eventually headed to our planet.
Researchers also point out that no asteroids with similar properties have been found, suggesting that the protoplanet from which it came has disappeared by becoming larger body parts or “simply being destroyed.”
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Last year an ancient chondrite was discovered in the Sahara Desert that has now been identified as part of a protoplanet that formed before the Earth existed. The stony meteorite, called EC 002, dates back 4.6 billion years
Anchondrites originate from the first planetary bodies that have been reformed from molten fragments and were thrown into space as a result of another collision.
These rocks also resemble those of Earth at first glance, considering them a rare discovery in the scientific community.
The last anchovy has been named after its landing site in the sea of the dunes of Erg Chech, Algeria, which consists of several meteorites that collectively weigh about 70 pounds, according to Motherboard.
Only a few thousand have been analyzed, mostly basaltic, but EC 002 is composed primarily of volcanic rock, making it rich in sodium, iron, and magnesium.
The rock is composed mainly of volcanic rock, which leads experts to believe that it came from the crust of a very early planet. The team describes EC 002 as a “relatively thick grain, brown and beige,” noting that it was also seen with yellow and green pieces.
The last anchovy has been named after its landing site in the sea of the dunes of Erg Chech, in Algeria, which consists of several meteorites that collectively weigh about 70 kilos.
With that in mind, the team says EC 002 “is also the oldest magnetic rock ever observed.”
Researchers determined its age by studying the isotopes of magnesium and aluminum in the rock, which showed that it formed about 4.566 billion years ago, while the Earth is said to be 4.543 million years old.
The team described EC 002 as a “relatively thick, brown and beige grain,” noting that it also looked yellow and green pieces.
They also observe that when they looked at other celestial bodies, centered on their wavelengths, they found nothing that matched the wavelength reflected by EC 002.
The meteorite also contains 58% silicon dioxide, which makes it even rarer than others previously found on Earth, as this mineral is commonly found in volcanic regions of our planet.
“Protoplanets covered by andesitic crusts were probably common,” the team wrote in the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“However, no asteroid shares the spectral characteristics of EC 002, indicating that almost all of these bodies have disappeared, either because they formed the building blocks of larger bodies or planets or were simply destroyed.”