A 4.5 billion year-old fragment of debris that hurtled to Earth from the outer reaches of our solar system has gone on display at the Natural History Museum, London.
Called the Winchcombe Meteorite after the small English market town it crash-landed in in February, scientists say this type of meteorite is incredibly rare.
Footage of its arrival on February 28 was captured by Richard Fleet from the UK Meteor Observation Network before landing on driveway of Hannah Wilcock in Winchcombe. It was peak lockdown, so I wasn t really doing anything that evening, funnily enough, Wilcock told reporters. And I heard something shatter outside. I had my window open, as I often do of an evening, and lo and behold, if it wasn t a meteorite.
BBC News
media captionFamily who found fragments of Winchcombe meteorite visit Natural History Museum display
From Monday, you ll get a chance to see the most famous space rock in Britain.
The meteorite that fell on the Gloucestershire town of Winchcombe in February is going on public display at London s Natural History Museum.
Scientists are busy studying the rock because it holds within it chemistry that existed at the formation of our Solar System 4.6 billion years ago.
But they ve got enough material to enable a 100g chunk to also be shown off to museum visitors.
To the uninitiated, the display meteorite looks like a small piece of half-burnt coal. Lean in close, though, and you can see some strands of grass and even some mud. This is something that fell out of the sky into a field.
Virtual tours keeping travel alive and well By HE WEI in Shanghai | China Daily | Updated: 2021-05-14 10:01 Share CLOSE Tourists visit the Louvre Museum on its reopening day after months of closure due to COVID-19 related lockdowns, in Paris, on July 6, last year. [Photo/Agencies]
Overseas tourist spots get Chinese attention despite COVID restrictions
While the COVID-19 pandemic has severely hampered international travel, would-be Chinese tourists still managed to get a glimpse of France s iconic Louvre Museum via their mobile phones.
The virtual tour last year took nearly 400,000 online audience members to the art museum s famous masterpieces－such as the Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa as well as areas off limits to the general public.
Ben Fogle
May 11 2021, 18:59 ET
THE minke whale that came to grief in the Thames in London this week is just one of a series of unusual marine animals that have been spotted around British coasts in recent years.
Last week The Sun told how Wally the walrus was delighting crowds in Pembrokeshire, more than 1,000 miles from his usual Arctic Circle habitat.
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Now marine experts are pondering why many sea creatures are straying from the safety of their natural territory.
Today adventurer Ben Fogle, who has seen many whales on his travels, examines Britain’s close encounters with unfamiliar creatures.
SOMETHING strange has been happening in British waters. It’s not every day you get a whale in the Thames.
Unique seal swimming patterns could inspire new underwater drones
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Unique seal swimming patterns could inspire new underwater drones
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While biologists have long known that seals and sea lions have had two different methods for swimming, the reason behind this has been a mystery.
By using cutting-edge engineering alongside footage of animal behaviour, scientists can now explain the origins of efficient swimming in the animals.
Seals and sea lions are fast-swimming ocean predators that use their flippers to “fly” through the water.
But not all seals are the same – some use their front flippers to swim, while others propel themselves with their back feet.