Ancient Moon-Sized Lost World Hinted by Rare Meteorite

A 2026 study of Northwest Africa 12774, an angrite meteorite, argues its unusually aluminium-rich clinopyroxene records formation under very high pressure (at least ~17.5 kilobars) inside a large parent body—potentially Moon-sized or larger—suggesting a planetary embryo once orbited the young Sun and may have vanished in a catastrophic collision while Earth was still forming. The interpretation does not reveal an orbit or Earth impact and does not prove all angrites come from such worlds; still, it shows meteorites can preserve mineral memories of large, long-gone planetary bodies.