Scientists have confirmed that the asteroid that exploded over Germany on January 21 is a rare space rock type that may hold the key to understanding Earth’s origins. space.com Have reported. According to the report, the scientist also said that fragments of asteroid 2024 BX1 were discovered just five days after the explosion. He further suggested that the meteorite fragments may belong to a rare category called aubrites.
According to SETI Institute meteorologist Peter Jenniskens, who was a member of the team that discovered some of the meteorites, there had been only 11 incidents of Aubright meteorites falling on Earth before. space.com, As reported, the extremely unusual specimens are from a family of meteorites that make up only 1% of all known meteorites. space.com,
Speaking on the source of the meteorites, Jenniskens said, “What’s interesting about this fall is that we have a very nice orbit to it, and so the shape of the orbit itself provides clues as to where the source region of these meteorites was. ” “As quoted by the daily. He further added that, “They probably came from the inner part of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.”
“This is a place where there’s probably a lot of debris, a collision that created a lot of small pieces called an asteroid family,” he said. space.com,
The report further addressed BX1 formation and said that main belt asteroids like 2024 BX1 formed about 4.5 billion years ago, roughly the same age as the planets in the Solar System. They were formed from material left over around the infant Sun during planet formation.
As for aubrites, these meteorites share many characteristics with Earth, including the proportion of water and other chemicals, according to Jenniskens, the report said. The report also indicated that the size found is no more than 1 meter wide and could be one of the smallest space rocks ever discovered before hitting Earth.
Meanwhile, in another report, Earth was also to see a series of asteroids fly past in the week starting January 29. According to news media reports, one of the five asteroids passing near Earth will be the size of a “FIFA-recognized stadium”. The largest of the five, asteroid 2008 OS 7, was first observed by NASA in 2008. It was supposed to zoom to a distance of 1.77 million miles from Earth on February 2, which is relatively close in cosmic terms.
(With inputs from Space.com)
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Published: 08 February 2024, 01:39 PM IST
