Goldschmidt geophysicist Jérôme Gattacceca (Jérôme Gattacceca) of the French National Center for Scientific Research in France presented a meteorite that once flew away from Earth and returned thousands of years later. If the discovery is confirmed by independent researchers, it will be the first time a terrestrial meteorite has been discovered on Earth.

We were surprised to learn that meteorites from Mars appeared on Earth. But finding a meteorite from our own planet on the earth’s surface is like a miracle! Meanwhile, some scientists have already expressed their skepticism about the conclusions reached by Gattachek’s group. As such, the discovery has yet to be defended during the heated scientific debate that a publication will be made on the subject.

Still, a number of signs indicate that this stone was once born on Earth and then cast into space. This could happen during Earth’s encounter with a particularly large asteroid, or almost unbelievably, during a volcanic eruption. Calculations show that for this, the stone must fly out of the volcano’s mouth at a speed several times higher than the speed of the fragments flying during a typical eruption. Simple volcanic eruptions throw stones to a height of 31-45 km.

p align=”justify”> Analysis of the rock confirmed that the 646 g stone was of terrestrial origin. It came from a volcano at the confluence of the oceanic plates. In 2018, a meteorite was found near Morocco. The catalog name is Northwest Africa (NWA) 13188. The Sahara is one of the most suitable places to search for meteorites after Antarctica. The absence of vegetation and light sand reveals black stones from the sky like the palm of your hand.

Isotope analysis of the stone showed that the concentration of helium-3, beryllium-10 and neon-21 in it was higher than that found in terrestrial rocks and lower than in other meteorites found. These isotopes are formed under the influence of cosmic rays, which are mostly blocked by the Earth’s atmosphere. From this it was concluded that the stone spent a relatively short but sufficient time in space. Finally, the stone had a characteristic melting of the surface formed when entering the dense layers of the atmosphere and was artificial, excluding tampering.

The scientists hope to determine the exact age of NWA 13188 from the concentration of the argon isotope. Perhaps this will indicate the length of time the stone has remained in space. Until now, scientists hypothesize that it may have been outside of Earth for several thousand years. If the discovery is confirmed, it will be the first person in the history of Earth science to detect a terrestrial meteorite on Earth. Earlier, rock from Earth was discovered on the Moon by the Apollo 14 expedition that took place in 1971. So the version about the “prodigal son” returning to Earth is not as fantastic as it might seem at first glance. Source