Researchers from the University of Alberta, located in Canada, analyzed a part of the El Ali meteorite, which was found in Somalia weighing 15 tons and occupying the ninth position in the ranking of the largest asteroid fragments ever found on the planet to date. He has already shown himself to be very different from the others.
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The meteorite was identified in the year 2020, but according to the residents of the region, it had been there for several generations. It has even been mentioned in poems and even songs. His name was given in reference to the place, as it was close to the city of El Ali.
15 ton meteorite
To carry out the study, the university team worked with a piece of about 70g. At the end of the analysis, the researchers found two minerals never seen on Earth. They named them “elaliite” and “elkinstantonite”, the former named after the meteorite itself.
In addition to the two types found, there is also a possible third mineral that is still being analyzed by the responsible team. According to Chris Herd, professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Earth Sciences, when new minerals are found, it means that the chemical conditions of the rock were different before.
When starting to analyze the fragment, Herd noticed the presence of curious minerals and contacted Andrew Locock, director of another laboratory at the university. He noticed, right on the first day, the presence of the two.
According to the researchers, there is usually a delay of at least a few days until they find new minerals, however, this discovery it was fast and impressive. Although they found the mineral already synthesized in the laboratory, they were never found in nature.
These new discoveries were presented during the Space Exploration Symposium 2022 event. Translated into Portuguese, the event is a space exploration conference. It is held annually by the Canadian university, which was also responsible for the analyzes discussed here.
Meteorites are fragments of asteroids from space that hit Earth at certain times. When that happens, the rock is usually analyzed by universities, so its content is disclosed and exposed in the same way that happened in the case of El Ali.
On several occasions, the minerals analyzed in the samples are already known to researchers; however, in some cases, it is possible to find news through studies that may take days or months to complete.
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