A 22-Million-Year Journey From the Asteroid Belt to Botswana
Astronomers reconstructed a space rock’s path before it exploded over southern Africa in 2018 and sprinkled the Kalahari with meteorites.
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A full rotation of the asteroid Vesta, as seen from the Dawn spacecraft in 2011.CreditCredit.NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA; Little Mountain 5
By Robin George Andrews
Published April 29, 2021Updated May 5, 2021
On the morning of June 2, 2018, an asteroid was seen careening toward us at 38,000 miles per hour. It was going to impact Earth, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Astronomers were beside themselves with excitement.
Five feet long and weighing about the same as an adult African elephant, this space rock posed no threat. But the early detection of this asteroid, only the second to be spotted in space before hitting land, was a good test of our ability to spot larger, more dangerous asteroids. Moreover, it afforded scientists the chance to study the a
Scientists Trace Origins Of 23-Million-Year-Old Asteroid That Hit Earth khits.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from khits.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
These meteorites landed on Earth after a 22-million-year voyage
For the first time, scientists have been able to precisely map the flight path of an asteroid that landed on Earth and trace it back to its point of origin. The boulder-size fragment’s journey to our planet began 22 million years ago, according to new research.
The asteroid, known as 2018 LA, appeared like a fireball in the skies over Botswana on June 2, 2018, before breaking apart and landing in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
Prior to breaking up in Earth’s atmosphere, scientists determined that the asteroid was about 5 feet (1.7 meters) in diameter, weighed 12,566 pounds and had been traveling at 37,282 miles per hour.
It took 22 million years for these meteorites to land on Earth Share Updated: 12:04 PM EDT Apr 28, 2021 By Ashley Strickland Share Updated: 12:04 PM EDT Apr 28, 2021
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Show Transcript Uh huh. When a meteorite strikes, earth scientists think it might create an unexpected mineral. At the impact site, scientists found it may alter minerals where it crashed and create an unusual form of silica. A team led by a Carnegie Institute for Science researcher examined the crystal structure of the silicon mineral courts under shock compression. They mimicked a meteorite impact in a lab with a cannon light gas gun to accelerate projectiles into court samples faster than a bullet. They used X ray tools to figure out the crystal structure of material right after impact and found that courts undergoes a transition into a new crystalline structure. However, once the intense pressure subsides, it can t last. This challenges longstanding assumptio