Meteorites carry clues that are pivotal in exploring the history of our Solar System, yet they don’t all look the same after impact. Colliding with a planetary surface sends shockwaves through meteorites, changing their configuration in various ways.
Scientists noticed, though, that meteorites containing carbon often appear as if they experienced less intense impacts and look less “shocked” than meteorites without carbon. A new study has discovered that this is because evidence from these meteorites blasts back into space after impact.
The study, published in Nature Communications, solves a long-standing mystery that changes how meteorites are viewed. This improved understanding could even prove useful for future space missions to obtain samples from other planetary bodies like Ceres, a dwarf planet that may have supported life in the past.
Stony meteorites called chondrites, formed over 4 billion years ago, have given scientists a glimpse of the early Solar System. They are ...
