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Two new minerals never before seen on Earth discovered in massive 33,500-pound meteorite
"A team of researchers has discovered at least two new minerals that have never before been seen on Earth in a 15 ton meteorite found in Somalia—the ninth largest meteorite ever found.
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," says Chris Herd, a professor in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and curator of the University of Alberta's Meteorite Collection. "That's what makes this exciting: In this particular meteorite you have two officially described minerals that are new to science."
The two minerals found came from a single 70 gram slice that was sent to the U of A for classification, and there already appears to be a potential third mineral under consideration. If researchers were to obtain more samples from the massive meteorite, there's a chance that even more might be found, Herd notes.
The two newly discovered minerals have been named elaliite and elkinstantonite. The first receives its name from the meteorite itself, dubbed the "El Ali" meteorite because it was found in near the town of El Ali, in the Hiiraan region of Somalia. Herd named the second mineral after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, vice president of the ASU Interplanetary Initiative, professor at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration and principal investigator of NASA's upcoming Psyche mission."
New minerals discovered in massive meteorite may reveal clues to asteroid formation
Two new minerals never before seen on Earth discovered in massive 33,500-pound meteorite
"A team of researchers has discovered at least two new minerals that have never before been seen on Earth in a 15 ton meteorite found in Somalia—the ninth largest meteorite ever found.
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," says Chris Herd, a professor in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and curator of the University of Alberta's Meteorite Collection. "That's what makes this exciting: In this particular meteorite you have two officially described minerals that are new to science."
The two minerals found came from a single 70 gram slice that was sent to the U of A for classification, and there already appears to be a potential third mineral under consideration. If researchers were to obtain more samples from the massive meteorite, there's a chance that even more might be found, Herd notes.
The two newly discovered minerals have been named elaliite and elkinstantonite. The first receives its name from the meteorite itself, dubbed the "El Ali" meteorite because it was found in near the town of El Ali, in the Hiiraan region of Somalia. Herd named the second mineral after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, vice president of the ASU Interplanetary Initiative, professor at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration and principal investigator of NASA's upcoming Psyche mission."
New minerals discovered in massive meteorite may reveal clues to asteroid formation
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