Alien minerals were found on a 15-ton meteorite that crashed in Africa. The two novel minerals were uncovered on the first day the sample was tested.
In a 15-ton meteorite that crashed in east Africa, a group of scientists from the University of Alberta identified at least two novel minerals never before observed on Earth.
The meteorite, discovered in Somalia in 2020, is the ninth biggest ever discovered. When scientists cut a two-ounce portion of the space rock, they discovered two new minerals called “elaliite” and “elkinstantonite”. The minerals’ specifics are still unknown.
“Whenever you find a new mineral, it means that the actual geological conditions, the chemistry of the rock, was different than what’s been found before.
“That’s what makes this exciting: In this particular meteorite you have two officially described minerals that are new to science,” Chris Herd, a professor in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and curator of the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Collection, said in a press release.
The space rock was named “El Ali” by Western experts since it was spotted near the town of El Ali in Somalia’s Hiiraan region.
The two novel minerals were uncovered on the first day the sample was tested, according to Herd. “Most of the time, it takes a lot more work than that to say there’s a new mineral,” he stated.
Comparable minerals had been synthesized in a laboratory by French researchers in the 1980s but had never been discovered in nature.
Herd further stated that these new mineral discoveries could assist civilization in the future:
“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.”
According to reports, the space rock was transported to China, as meteorites are frequently bought and traded on foreign markets.
Hmmmm, 15 tons and whuduhyaget? Ya get a big ‘say huh?’ at that picture of a boulder which hit the earth at what speed?