The meteorite, called NWA 13188 and weighing about 646 grams, was discovered by meteorite hunters in an unspecified area of the Sahara Desert in Morocco in 2018. No one saw the rock fall to Earth and its composition was found to be very similar to a type of volcanic rock known to scientists , leading to speculation about its origin.
However, a team of researchers who recently analyzed the rock believe it is a terrestrial meteorite, a rock that originated on Earth and was launched into space millions of years ago, and has just recently fallen back to our planet.
The suspected meteorite NWA 13188, discovered in Morocco in 2018, may have originated from Earth. (Photo: Albert Jambon)
Jérôme Gattacceca, a meteorologist at Aix-Marseille University in France, presented his team's findings on July 11 at an international geochemistry conference in Lyon, France.
If this research is correct, NWA 13188 would be recognized as the first official terrestrial meteorite found on Earth.
Researchers believe NWA 13188 is a meteorite because it has a “well-developed fusion crust” – a smooth layer of thermally shocked rock on its surface. This is a sign that it partially burned up in Earth’s atmosphere, rather than being found in volcanic rocks on Earth.
The team also found traces of isotopes (elements with different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei) including beryllium-3, helium-10 and neon-21, suggesting that the rock had been exposed to cosmic rays — high-energy particles that travel through space at nearly the speed of light. The levels of these isotopes suggest the rock has been in space for at least 10,000 years, but possibly much longer.
How did the rock get from Earth to space?
There are two possible scenarios for how the meteorite was ejected into space. The first is that a massive volcanic eruption launched it straight into space, and the second is that it was ejected from the atmosphere by the impact of a giant asteroid.
The second explanation is most likely, researchers believe, as no recorded volcanic eruption was powerful enough to launch the rock into space.
Others think the rock could have been formed elsewhere in the solar system, although it is similar to Earth rocks.
The team is planning further analysis to find out the exact age of the rock and look for any other clues that might determine how it was launched from Earth.
(Source: Tien Phong/Live Science)
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