Meteorite on Earth dates back to when solar system was young
Recommended for Secondary Grades
A fallen meteorite on earth is in fact, really old. A 12-million-year-old fireball meteorite fell to Earth in January 2018.
A meteorite is a piece of rock or other matter from space that produces bright light as it travels through the atmosphere. When it enters a planet’s atmosphere at high speed and burn up, the fireball or “shooting star” is called a meteor. When it hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite.
This meteor was seen streaking across the sky over regions in the US and Canada on the evening of 16 January 2018. Pieces of it landed on the frozen surface of Strawberry Lake in Michigan, US, which were collected.
A study of the meteorite shows that it contains about 2600 organic molecules dating to when our solar system was young.
An analysis of the uranium in the meteorite indicates that it was part of an asteroid formed about 4.5 billion years ago. Then about 12 million years ago, an impact broke off the chunk of rock that became the meteorite that fell in Michigan.
The fallen meteorite on earth has not changed much since 4.5 billion years ago. So these compounds could be similar to the ones that may have led to life on Earth.
Additionally, because it was collected quickly after it landed, it is a very pristine (clean) sample. This means it is not polluted by Earth’s chemicals.
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