A meteorite that crashed to the ground in Somalia in 2020 brought with it at least two unique minerals that cannot be found anywhere else on our globe. University of Alberta scientists, according to a news release, have confirmed the identities of the two minerals.
Space Rocks
Every day, tons of interplanetary debris crash into Earth's atmosphere, only to be burned in an instant. Since they are so rare, space rocks that make it through the atmosphere and land on Earth are called meteorites.
Rarely do large meteorites fall to Earth, but one did not so long ago near the Somalian town of El Ali.
Although it weighs a staggering 16.5 tons (15 tonnes), this cosmic rock only ranks as the seventh biggest meteorite ever discovered.
Unique Minerals
As reported first by Interesting Engineering, about 2.5 ounces (70 grams) of the meteorite was transported to the University of Alberta for categorization, where scientists discovered two minerals that do not exist naturally on Earth.
Chris Herd, a professor in the university's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the curator of the Meteorite Collection, stated, "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."
Herd has worked with scientists from UCLA and Caltech to determine that the meteorite is an Iron IAB complex made up of meteoritic iron and silicate inclusions.
The University of Alberta's Electron Microprobe Laboratory also assisted in Herd's study by confirming the existence of the two minerals in an early investigation.
It takes a lot of time and effort for this kind of research to prove the existence of a new mineral. But since the two detected minerals had already been synthesized, researchers were able to immediately validate their findings by matching their compositions.
An intriguing third candidate for a new mineral is now being considered, although confirmation of its existence will need more testing.
Identification
Elaliite and elkinstantonite are the names given to the two verified minerals.
The first name took its inspiration from El Ali, the closest community to the site where the meteorite was discovered.
The second is a tribute to Lindy Elkins-Tanton, a professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University.
Herd said in the news statement that the closest parallel we have are iron meteorites, which is something that Elkins-Tanton has worked on extensively. The naming of a mineral after her was a fitting way to honor her achievements in the scientific community, he added.
The planned NASA Psyche mission, which will send a probe to the mineral asteroid Psych to learn more about our solar system's formation, will be led by Elkins-Tanton.
On the other hand, this may be the last time we hear about the El Ali meteorite since it has supposedly been sent to China in search of a buyer.
There is currently no way to tell whether, after a sale, the buyer would agree to further samples being gathered for scientific study.
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