In an intriguing discovery that has the scientific community abuzz, a dark reddish-brown stone found in the Sahara desert of Morocco a few years ago has the potential to reshape our understanding of meteorites.
Northwest Africa 13188 (NWA 13188) is a rare specimen that is thought to have been launched from Earth into space and returned thousands of years later, amazingly intact.
Presented at the prestigious Goldschmidt geology conference in Lyon earlier this month, the unusual rock has captivated geologists worldwide.
Initial investigations found that its chemical makeup matches that of volcanic rock on Earth. But there is a catch: some of its elements have changed due to interactions with powerful cosmic rays in space, providing compelling evidence of its space journey.
A Meteorite's Journey Beyond Earth
InterestingEngineering reports that geologists and other researchers have been captivated by the concentrations of altered elements, known as isotopes, within the rock.
These isotopes are too abundant to be accounted for by processes confined to Earth's domain, pointing to a possible journey through space.
The rock's unique isotopic signatures contain galactic cosmic ray traces, proving it traveled far beyond our atmosphere.
How the Stone Reached Outer Space
Researchers hypothesize that around 10,000 years ago, an asteroid impact propelled NWA 13188 into the cosmic void. While volcanic eruptions can also fling rocks high into the sky, geologists argue that the characteristics of this meteorite make such an explanation improbable.
As NWA 13188 hurtled back through Earth's atmosphere, its surface melted, forming a glossy fusion crust. This phenomenon, observed on the rock, is a telltale sign of an interplanetary re-entry, bolstering the argument for its extraterrestrial origins.
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Acquiring the Stone
Space.com reports that the 1.4-pound NWA 13188 was acquired in 2018 by a retired French professor Albert Jambon at a mineral and gem show in Sainte Marie aux Mines, France.
Believed to have originated from nomadic Bedouin tribes in the Sahara, the exact landing site of this captivating stone after its return remains shrouded in mystery.
What's Next?
While the discovery team is confident in NWA 13188's singularity, skepticism remains among other geologists. Calls for additional investigations and cautious evaluation have emerged before declaring this rock a "boomerang meteorite."
Determining the meteorite's age and identifying a corresponding impact crater on Earth is crucial for scientists. The rock's classification as an ungrouped achondrite poses challenges to its terrestrial origin, as meteorites of this class are conventionally believed to be as ancient as our solar system at 4.5 billion years old.
One of the primary stumbling blocks in the study of the rock is the lack of a young impact crater on Earth that aligns with the proposed timeline.
A crater with a diameter of approximately 12.4 miles (20 km) would have formed if a 0.6-mile (1 km) wide asteroid struck Earth 10,000 years ago. Yet, none of the known impact craters on Earth meet these criteria, presenting a puzzling problem.
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