Researchers from the University of Alberta identified two space minerals inside a meteorite that do not occur naturally on Earth.
Space exploration isn’t just about finding life on other planets or discovering the next Earth. We’re also looking to better understand how the universe formed. And we’re trying to mine space for previously unseen minerals that might fix problems back home. But you don’t always have to leave the planet to find new minerals. SometimesThat’s exactly what happened with the El Alo meteorite that fell near the town of El Ali in the Hiiraan region of Somalia.
Herd is a professor in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and curator of the University of Alberta’s Meteorite Collection. The scientist described the findings at theWith help from UCLA and California Institute of Technology researchers, Herd classified El Ali as an “Iron, IAB complex” meteorite. It’s one of over 350 in this category.
The researchers could quickly identify the two new minerals because others had created them artificially on Earth. Andrew Locock, head of the U of A’s Electron Microprobe Laboratory, matched the composition of elaliite and elkinstantonite to the human-made minerals.
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