Nové minerály objavené v masívnom meteorite môžu odhaliť stopy po vzniku asteroidov.

Tím výskumníkov objavil najmenej dva nové minerály, ktoré na Zemi predtým nikto nevidel, v meteorite s hmotnosťou 33 000 libier (15 000 kg) nájdenom v Somálsku v roku 2020. Tento obrovský meteorit je deviatym najväčším, aký sa kedy našiel.

„Keď nájdete nový minerál, znamená to, že skutočné geologické podmienky, chémia hornín, boli iné ako to, čo sme našli predtým,“ hovorí Chris Hurd, profesor na Katedre vied o Zemi a atmosfére a kurátor meteoritu v Alberte. zber. „Práve preto je to vzrušujúce: V tomto konkrétnom meteorite máte dva oficiálne opísané minerály, ktoré sú pre vedu nové.“

Jeden 70-gramový plátok meteoritu bol odoslaný na klasifikáciu na University of Alberta, kde boli tieto dva minerály objavené. Zdá sa, že už existuje možný tretí skúmaný minerál. Hurd poznamenáva, že ak výskumníci získajú viac vzoriek z masívneho meteoritu, je tu šanca, že nájdu viac minerálov.

Dva novoobjavené minerály boli pomenované elaliit a elkinstantonit. Prvé meno, elaliit, pochádza zo samotného meteoritu, ktorý sa oficiálne nazýva „NajvyššíMeteorit, pretože sa našiel neďaleko mesta Al-Ali v somálskom regióne Hiran. Kŕdeľ pomenovaný elkenstantonit ako druhý minerál po Lindy Elkins-Tanton, viceprezidentke Planetárnej iniciatívy na Arizona State University, profesorke na ASU’s College of Earth and Space Exploration a hlavnej výskumníčke pre[{“ attribute=““>NASA’s upcoming Psyche mission.

A slice of the El Ali meteorite contains two minerals never before seen on Earth. Credit: University of Alberta

“Lindy has done a lot of work on how the cores of planets form, how these iron-nickel cores form, and the closest analogue we have are iron meteorites. So it made sense to name a mineral after her and recognize her contributions to science,” Herd explains.

In collaboration with researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Herd classified the El Ali meteorite as an “Iron, IAB complex” meteorite, one of over 350 in that particular category.

As Herd was analyzing the meteorite to classify it, he saw something that caught his attention. He brought in the expertise of Andrew Locock, head of the University of Alberta’s Electron Microprobe Laboratory, who has been involved in other new mineral descriptions including Heamanite-(Ce).

“The very first day he did some analyses, he said, ‘You’ve got at least two new minerals in there,’” says Herd. “That was phenomenal. Most of the time it takes a lot more work than that to say there’s a new mineral.”

Locock’s rapid identification was possible because the two minerals had been synthetically created before, so he was able to match the composition of the newly discovered natural minerals with their human-made counterparts.

Scientists are still examining the minerals in detail to determine what they can tell us about the conditions in the meteorite when it formed.

“That’s my expertise — how you tease out the geologic processes and the geologic history of the asteroid this rock was once part of,” says Herd. “I never thought I’d be involved in describing brand new minerals just by virtue of working on a meteorite.”

Herd also notes that any new mineral discoveries could possibly yield exciting new uses down the line.

“Whenever there’s a new material that’s known, material scientists are interested too because of the potential uses in a wide range of things in society.”

While the future of the meteorite remains uncertain, Herd says the researchers have received news that it appears to have been moved to China in search of a potential buyer. It remains to be seen whether additional samples will be available for scientific purposes.

Herd described the findings at the Space Exploration Symposium on November 21 at the University of Alberta’s ETLC Solarium.