Meteorites

The Chelyabinsk Meteorite May Have Been Involved in The Smash That Formed Our Moon

by

A meteor that exploded in the sky over Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013 could have also been somehow involved in the giant impact that formed the Moon. This tantalizing finding comes thanks to a new way of dating collisions between rocks in space, based on microscopic analysis of minerals within meteorites. Although further investigation is warranted, … Read more

The Mysterious Origins of King Tutankhamen’s Space Rock Dagger Just Got Clearer

by

You may already know the legend of King Tutankhamen’s space dagger – an iron weapon forged from the rock of meteorites, and entombed with the ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Now a new study has revealed more details about this most fascinating and mysterious of artifacts.   A thorough chemical analysis involving high-resolution photography and X-rays has … Read more

‘Treasure Map’ Predicts The Hiding Places of 300,000 Meteorites Across Antarctica

by

Although meteorites are known to fall all over the world, the environment and unique processes in Antarctica make them somewhat easier to find on the pristine, snowy landscape. Still, collecting meteorites in Antarctica is physically grueling and hazardous work.   But what if there was a “treasure map” which showed the most probable places to … Read more

Mars may have been habitable millions of years later than we thought

by

Analysis of minerals in a Martian meteorite suggest that the planet may have begun to be hospitable for life 30 million years later than previously thought Space 2 February 2022 By Chen Ly Caption: NWA 7034Copyright: NASA NASA Deformations in a small mineral grain from a Martian meteorite hint that habitable conditions on Mars could … Read more

Meteorites reveal how Earth and Mars formed

by

Earth and Mars likely arose from collisions between giant moon-size rocks instead of the clumping together of tiny pebbles over time, a new study found. Previous research suggested there may be two primary ways in which rocky planets such as Earth are built. The classic model proposes that moon-to-Mars-size rocks dubbed planetary embryos once regularly … Read more