Jérôme Gattacceca, geophysicist at the French National Center for Scientific Research, has unveiled the first meteorite of terrestrial origin. But the discovery has not yet been confirmed by independent researchers.
Here’s what we know
It is believed that the meteorite appeared on Earth before leaving our planet. It was probably hurled into space when our planet collided with a large asteroid. The second version is a volcanic eruption. But the probability is close to zero. Medium eruptions hurdle rocks up to 45 kilometers high.
Analysis of the meteorite showed that it originated from a volcano at the confluence of the oceanic plates. The stone has been given the catalog name Northwest Africa (NWA) 13188. It was discovered five years ago in the Sahara, Morocco. The desert, thanks to its white sands, is an ideal place to search for meteorites together with Antarctica.
NWA 13188 exhibits surface melting, caused by entry into the thick atmosphere. The concentrations of neon-21, helium-3 and beryllium-10 are higher than those of terrestrial rocks, but lower than those of other meteorites. This is probably due to the fact that our hero did not stay long in space.
Scientists will study the concentration of the argon isotope to determine the Stone Age. If the discovery is confirmed, NWA 13188 will become the first terrestrial meteorite found on Earth. 52 years ago, during the Apollo-14 mission, a rock of terrestrial origin was discovered on the Moon.
Source: Scientific alarm