Articles tagged with Meteorites
Scientists have ruled out meteorites as a source of methane on Mars, raising hopes that the gas might be generated by life on the red planet. Methane levels are replenished by an unknown source, with two plausible theories remaining: microorganisms producing methane as a by-product or reactions between volcanic rock and water.
A team of researchers has found a rare meteorite in the Western Australian desert and tracked its orbit using a new camera network. The meteorite is composed of basaltic igneous rock and is believed to have formed deep in the inner Solar System, providing clues about the origins of the Solar System.
A study suggests that large meteorite bombardments approximately four billion years ago could have helped to make the early Earth and Mars more habitable for life by releasing water and carbon dioxide into their atmospheres. This process may have created a warmer and wetter environment that was conducive to the emergence of life.
Researchers calibrated laboratory analyses of a meteorite with telescopic observations of its precursor asteroid, providing new insights into asteroid compositions and origins. The study identified the asteroid as a ureilite, potentially originating from the same parent body.
Two rare meteorites from Antarctica reveal the presence of an ancient asteroid with a crust similar to Earth's continents. The discovery provides new insights into the formation of andesite crust in our Solar System, challenging traditional plate tectonics theories.
Two newly discovered meteorites from Antarctica have feldspar-rich rock called andesite, similar to those found on Earth. The rocks' age and chemical signature suggest they formed on an undifferentiated asteroid with a diameter over 100 kilometers, providing insights into the early stages of planetary formation.
A researcher has discovered a tool that can reveal hundreds of hidden meteorite craters using aerial forest surveys. The technology was tested on a crater near Whitecourt, Alberta, and shows great potential for finding more undiscovered sites globally.
Meteorites containing ancient magnetic records have provided new insights into the early history of planets. The study suggests that small bodies in the solar system were large enough to melt and form magnetic dynamos, overturning previous ideas about planet formation.
Researchers at Carnegie Institution resolve solar system formation with detailed model of supernova triggering collapse. The 'Little Bang' theory suggests a supernova shock wave triggered the Sun and planets.
Researchers found extraterrestrial nucleobases in a Murchison meteorite fragment, suggesting early genetic materials came from space. The discovery supports the idea that life's raw materials are widespread in the cosmos.
Scientists suggest that meteorite impacts may have delivered the chemical seeds of life on Earth, resulting in a predominance of left-handed amino acids. This theory is supported by evidence found on meteorites and simulations of prebiotic conditions, which show that cosmic amino acids can transfer their chirality to simple amino acids.
Asteroid researchers used telescopes to identify three ancient asteroids that date back to the Solar System's formation. These 'prime candidates' contain calcium and aluminum-rich inclusions, providing insights into the earliest stages of the Solar System.
Researchers found that some abiotic precursors to life on Earth carry 'handedness' in a larger number than previously thought. The discovery was made possible by the study of an exceptionally pristine meteorite, which revealed molecular asymmetry in extraterrestrial chemistry.
Scientists using the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer instrument have observed fluctuations in argon composition of the Martian atmosphere. The study reveals a constant change in the ratio of argon to carbon dioxide as winter sets in at one of the poles, indicating mixing between polar air and tropics.
In the circumstellar environment, newly formed elements make compounds and life takes off for the first time. The shells around dying stars enable a chemistry that produced grains older than our sun itself.
Researchers analyze comet Wild 2 samples, finding evidence of material formed at both cold and hot temperatures, and unusual organic molecules with oxygen and nitrogen content. The discovery raises questions about how these fragile materials survived capture and formed in the early solar system.
A new lunar meteorite, MIL 05035, has been discovered in Antarctica, providing a rare opportunity to study a part of the Moon's surface not visited by the US Apollo program. The meteorite exhibits unusual mineralogy and texture, offering clues about the Moon's formation and evolution.
A recent study published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta suggests a massive meteorite shower occurred on the Moon 3.8-4 billion years ago, potentially impacting Earth as well. The lunar rocks analyzed produced ages close to 3.9 billion years and exhibited different chemical fingerprints, indicating repeated bombardment by meteorites.
Researchers found that half of planetary collisions result in impactors bouncing off, leaving them significantly altered. These collisions can strip away atmospheres, crusts, and mantles, producing diverse asteroid populations.
Researchers suggest that Martian features can be explained by meteorite strikes rather than evaporated lakes. Base surges from massive explosions caused by meteorite impacts result in simple and consistent explanations for rock formations and sediment layers found at the Opportunity site.
Researchers at Imperial College London analysed primitive meteorites, coal-like rocks older than the Earth, and found they are depleted of volatile elements. This suggests 'volatile depletion' may be an inevitable part of planet formation across many planetary systems.
Researchers have identified two distinct formation times for chondrules in the Gujba and Hammadah al Hamra meteorites, contradicting the linear process of solar system evolution. The discovery suggests that giant plumes of vapor produced by planetary collisions may have formed these chondrules much later than previously thought.
The discovery provides the first conclusive evidence that a 'protosun' played a major role in chemically shaping the solar system by emitting ultraviolet energy. The team used a technique to reveal details about the Earth's early atmosphere from variations in oxygen and sulfur isotopes, indicating the presence of photochemical reactions.
Astronomer Nicolas Dauphas has refined the accuracy of the cosmic clock by comparing the decay of uranium-238 and thorium-232, estimating the age of the Milky Way at approximately 14.5 billion years, plus or minus 2 billion years.
Scientists have long puzzled over the origin of chondrules, glassy particles found in meteorites that formed in the solar nebula. New calculations suggest that spiral arms in the disk surrounding Jupiter may have generated shock waves that melted dust clumps to form these particles.
A meteorite from Oman has been precisely dated to 3.9 billion years ago, revealing its lunar origins and providing new insights into the moon's history. The discovery sheds light on the moon's evolution, including a key impact event that formed the Imbrium basin.
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory used a specialized instrument to analyze stardust from a meteorite, confirming the theory that stars form atoms through nucleosynthesis. The discovery provides precise confirmation of how atoms are made inside stars.
Researchers discovered a 100-fold increase in meteorite activity after an ancient asteroid breakup, revealing a 'lithographic time capsule' of fossilized meteorites. The study found matching concentrations of extraterrestrial chromite grains across five quarries in southern Sweden.
Researchers have determined the age of the oldest known meteorite impact on Earth, a catastrophic event that generated massive shockwaves billions of years before the dinosaur extinction. The ancient meteorite is estimated to be approximately 12 miles wide and was buried in rocks formed during the Archean eon.
Researchers used refined techniques to study minerals from meteorites, revealing a 20-million-year estimate for the Earth's formation. The new figure is based on careful separation of minerals and isolation of radioactive forms of niobium and zirconium.
A recent discovery of buried impact craters on Mars indicates that the planet's northern lowlands formed very early in its history, possibly as a result of a shallow ocean. This finding provides crucial insights into the origin of Mars' crustal dichotomy and challenges traditional theories about the planet's geological evolution.
Geologists have found no evidence of impact-induced volcanism on other heavily-impacted planets in our solar system, according to new research by Jay Melosh. The study also provides a theoretical analysis of the conditions created by a large impact on Earth, contradicting a widely-held idea.
Researchers use reflectance spectroscopy to determine the meteorite's composition, providing clues about early solar chemical evolution and differing from any seen in meteorites so far. The findings were published by NASA's Johnson Space Center and Brown University, funded by grants from NASA.
Scientists at the University of Manchester and the Natural History Museum in London found water-bearing salt crystals within the Zag meteorite that may have formed just two million years after the solar system's birth. This discovery could indicate that hospitable conditions for life might have arisen earlier than previously thought.
A 65 million-year-old meteorite impact caused massive landslides and subsidence along the Yucatán Peninsula's continental margin. Giant submarine avalanches then swept across the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, displacing billions of gallons of water.