Tag

Meteorites

All articles tagged with #meteorites

archaeology12 days ago•4 min saved

Meteorite Rings Signal Space Iron for Bronze Age Elites in Minoan-Mycenaean Greece

Researchers analyzed 91 Bronze Age iron objects from Greece and found 13 with meteoritic iron (nickel-rich), mostly ornate rings used by Minoan and Mycenaean elites; 78 items were made from smelted iron dating to as early as 1400 BCE, including two pieces older than 1200 BCE. The meteoritic iron was likely imported from Egypt and served as a prestige symbol in funerary contexts, with the meteoritic-ring fashion fading by around 1200 BCE.

via ScienceAlert|

#archaeology #bronzeage #meteorites

science17 days ago•11 min saved

Antarctica’s blue-ice conveyor turns space rocks into Earth’s largest meteorite archive

Antarctica’s blue-ice fields act as a natural sorting conveyor: flowing ice, mountains, and dry katabatic winds concentrate meteorites on vast ice surfaces, creating the world’s largest meteorite collection (more than 45,000 specimens, nearing 50,000 in total). While most rocks come from asteroids, a small fraction are lunar or Martian; programs like ANSMET recover, document, and freeze-store samples for researchers, turning a natural accident into a valuable, wide-ranging low-cost sample library. The hotspot locations depend on ice speed and climate, and the process is not permanent as ice movement can bury or wash away specimens.

via Space Daily|

#ansmet #antarctica #blue-ice

science26 days ago•12 min saved

Tutankhamun’s Dagger Was Forged from a Meteorite, Not Earth

New analyses confirm Tutankhamun’s iron dagger is meteoritic iron, with nickel and cobalt ratios matching iron meteorites rather than terrestrial ore. Earlier 2016 results and a 2022 follow-up converge on a meteoritic origin and point to a close match with the Kharga meteorite, though the exact source remains uncertain. The dagger’s hilt and other iron artifacts are still under study, highlighting Bronze Age sky-iron use and the craft, trade, and linguistic context surrounding “iron of the sky.”

via Space Daily|

#archaeology #egypt #meteorites

space-and-spaceflight1 month ago•16 min saved

Sun's Silver Finally Seen: New Solar Atmosphere Model Aligns Sun with Meteorites

A refined model of the Sun's atmosphere shows the Sun contains about 55% more silver than earlier estimates, meaning silver isn't missing but was misread due to simplified models; the solar abundance now aligns better with ancient meteorites and resolves a decades-long discrepancy. The improvement comes from more realistic treatment of the Sun's outer layers and how silver atoms interact with light, rather than discovering new silver. Researchers say the Sun remains a key reference for understanding heavier elements in stars and plan to apply the method to other stars while checking for biases from other elements.

via Gizmodo|

#meteorites #silver #solar-atmosphere

science1 month ago•5 min saved

Rare CO chondrite meteorite linked to dinosaur extinction, new study finds

A new study suggests the asteroid that caused the dinosaur extinction was an exceptionally rare CO chondrite; nickel isotope measurements of a global KT clay layer link the impact to this meteorite, indicating that atmospheric debris and dust, rather than sulfur in the meteorite, played the primary role in the mass extinction.

via ScienceDaily|

#dinosaurs #meteorites #nickel-isotopes

science1 month ago•12 min saved

Rare meteorite class identified as Chicxulub’s trigger, study finds

A new study identifies Chicxulub’s impactor as a rare carbon monoxide–bearing chondrite, a meteorite type comprising about 5% of samples. While this confirms the asteroid theory for the dinosaurs’ extinction, researchers say atmospheric debris—not sulfur in the meteorite—was the main killer, and trace elements in a KT boundary clay point to an origin from the outer asteroid belt near Jupiter or the distant solar system.

via The Independent|

#dinosaurs #extinction #meteor

space1 month ago•12 min saved

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.

via Space Daily|

#astronomy #early-solar-system #meteorites

space2 months ago•3 min saved

Jupiter’s Dust Ring: The Solar System’s Hidden Planet-Factory

Astronomers used computer simulations to show a dust-trap ring just outside Jupiter’s orbit that concentrates material into two generations of planetesimals, potentially explaining carbonaceous chondrite meteorites found on Earth and highlighting the ring as a key birthplace for early planets in our solar system.

via Futurism|

#astronomy #meteorites #planetary-science

space3 months ago•7 min saved

Beyond Jupiter, a dusty ring sparked a multi-generation planetesimal factory

Simulations show a dust-loaded ring just outside Jupiter acted as a long-lasting dust trap, producing multiple generations of planetesimals with varied compositions over millions of years and linking to meteorite types like carbonaceous chondrites, offering insight into the Solar System’s early planet-building history.

via ScienceDaily|

#carbonaceous-chondrites #dust-trap #jupiter

science3 months ago•4 min saved

Earth Formed Mostly from Inner Solar System Material, Isotopic Study Finds

New isotopic evidence suggests Earth formed largely from material in the inner Solar System, with Jupiter’s gravity acting as a barrier that kept outer Solar System material from mixing into Earth; while most building blocks were local, some water and possibly carbon may have arrived later from outer-body impacts.

via Indian Defence Review|

#earth-formation #inner-solar-system #isotopic-analysis

science4 months ago•37 min saved

Earth's Inner-Solar-System Roots: New Study Maps Our Planet's Origins

New isotopic analyses of meteorites and early Earth rocks indicate Earth formed predominantly from material from the inner Solar System, with Jupiter’s gravity acting as a barrier that limited outer-Solar-System material; the planet’s overall isotopic composition is homogeneous, while water (and some carbon) likely arrived later from outer-body sources.

via Yahoo|

#earth-origin #inner-solar-system #isotopes

space-and-spaceflight4 months ago•17 min saved

Ballpoint Ink in Martian Meteorites Highlights Contamination Challenge

A Basque Country team analyzed six Martian meteorite slices and found traces of ballpoint-pen ink and other contaminants tied to sample processing, not Martian material. Using Raman spectroscopy, they identified seven contaminants, including a copper compound, printer-ink molecules, and blue polyester, across samples with and without prior processing. While analytic methods can distinguish these contaminants, the study underscores the lack of standardized, contamination-aware prep protocols and proposes steps to minimize leftovers as future Mars sample-return missions proceed.

via Gizmodo|

#contamination #ink #mars

science4 months ago•5 min saved

Artemis II Captures Real-Time Moon Meteorite Flashes

During a roughly seven-hour lunar observation, Artemis II crew reported six meteorite flashes on the Moon—seen in real time as white-to-bluish pinpricks of light—mostly during a solar eclipse. Scientists say these were likely small projectiles and plan to compare the sightings with orbital data to estimate meteoroid flux near the Moon, informing future lunar-base planning.

via ScienceAlert|

#artemis-ii #lunar-impacts #meteorites

space4 months ago•6 min saved

Artemis II: Six Brief Meteor Impacts Light Up the Moon's Far Side

During Artemis II's flyby of the Moon's far side in near-dark conditions, the crew observed up to six brief flashes caused by tiny meteorites hitting the lunar surface; the flashes lasted under a second and weren't captured by the onboard cameras, but NASA confirmed they were natural impacts. The event, visible due to the solar eclipse darkening the far side, helps refine models of meteoroid risk for future bases and informs shielding and habitat planning for lunar exploration.

via WIRED|

#artemis-ii #lunar-exploration #meteorites

space-and-spaceflight5 months ago•16 min saved

Houston Meteor Fireball Could Have Crashed Through a Roof

A bright fireball lit up Texas on Saturday as a roughly one-ton meteor traveled over the state, exploded midair, and fragmented into pieces that fell across Houston; NASA says fragments may have struck a home, with eyewitnesses reporting a loud boom and a ceiling hole while the American Meteor Society logged hundreds of sightings.

via Gizmodo|

#houston #meteorites #meteors