Two unknown minerals found inside 17-ton meteorite, may reveal origins of asteroids

A large meteorite in Somalia contained two minerals that had never been observed before on Earth. They might include crucial hints on how asteroids are created.

In a single 2.5-ounce (70-gram) slice cut from the 16.5 tons (15 metric tons) El Ali meteorite, which was discovered in 2020, the two brand-new minerals were discovered. Elkins-Tanton, the managing director of the Arizona State University Interplanetary Initiative and the principal investigator of NASA's upcoming Psyche mission, who will send a probe to investigate the mineral-rich Psyche asteroid for clues about how our solar system's planets formed, is honoured by the names elaliite and elkinstantonite, which were given to the minerals after the meteor and respectively.

Chris Herd, a professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta, stated in a statement that "Whenever you find a new mineral, it means that the actual geological conditions, the chemistry of the rock, was different than what's been found before." 

 "That's what makes this exciting: In this particular meteorite you have two officially described minerals that are new to science," he also stated. 

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El Ali was identified by the researchers as an Iron IAB complex meteorite, a type of meteorite composed of meteoric iron and silicate flecks. The scientists' attention was drawn to the new minerals' specifics when examining the meteorite slice. They quickly recognised the minerals as freshly recorded in nature by contrasting them with versions of them that had previously been made in a lab.

Scientists want to learn more about meteorites in order to comprehend the circumstances surrounding the formation of their parent asteroid. How to elucidate the geologic processes and the geologic history of the asteroid this rock was once a part of is my area of expertise, Herd added. "I never thought I'd be involved in describing brand new minerals just by virtue of working on a meteorite."

The group is also investigating the use of minerals in material science.

Future scientific discoveries from the El Ali meteorite, however, could be in danger. Now that the meteorite has been relocated to China in search of a potential buyer, access by researchers to the space rock for study may be restricted.