Massive Meteorite Hid Two Minerals Never Before Seen on Earth - CNET

A elephantine meteorite discovered successful Somalia turned retired to beryllium afloat of surprises. The El Ali meteorite is named for its landing determination adjacent the municipality of El Ali. It weighs 16.5 tons (15 tonnes) and is 1 of the largest meteorites ever found. Scientists researching its creation discovered it was hiding 2 caller minerals ne'er earlier seen connected Earth.

A probe squad astatine the University of Alberta successful Canada discovered the minerals portion examining a tiny 2.5-ounce (70 gram) portion of the abstraction rock. The caller minerals are named elaliite (for the meteorite's adjacent town) and elkinstantonite successful grant of Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the main researcher for NASA's upcoming Psyche asteroid mission.

"Whenever you find a caller mineral, it means that the existent geological conditions, the chemistry of the rock, was antithetic than what's been recovered before," said geologist Chris Herd, curator of the University of Alberta's Meteorite Collection, successful a connection connected Monday. "That's what makes this exciting: In this peculiar meteorite you person 2 officially described minerals that are caller to science." 

Herd brought successful mineralogist Andew Locock to assistance analyse the meteorite, which has present been classified arsenic a benignant of robust meteorite. Locock rapidly identified the caller minerals by comparing them with akin minerals researchers had synthetically created successful laboratory settings. 

"That was phenomenal," Herd said. "Most of the clip it takes a batch much enactment than that to accidental there's a caller mineral." 

Herd presented the team's findings at the Space Exploration Symposium astatine the assemblage earlier this month. The adjacent measurement successful the probe volition beryllium to spot what the minerals tin archer the scientists astir the enactment of the meteorite.

While the El Ali meteorite has lone precocious travel to the attraction of the subject community, it was reportedly known to locals successful Somalia who traced its root back by astatine slightest 5 generations. Only a tiny portion of the meteorite has been extracted for study. According to Herd, the probe squad heard the main meteorite was moved to China, wherever it whitethorn beryllium up for sale.

Scientists inactive anticipation to get their hands connected much of the meteorite. They person already identified a imaginable 3rd caller mineral, and determination could beryllium much surprises hiding retired successful the fallen abstraction rock. The caller minerals could beryllium of involvement beyond geology and astronomy. "Whenever there's a caller worldly that's known," Herd said, "material scientists are funny excessively due to the fact that of the imaginable uses successful a wide scope of things successful society."