June 3, 2023

Weird hybrid meteorite may be evidence of a chaotic early solar system

Weird hybrid meteorite may be evidence of a chaotic early solar system
Weird hybrid meteorite may be evidence of a chaotic early solar systemWeird hybrid meteorite may be evidence of a chaotic early solar system
Artist's illustration of an asteroid belt, with rocks against dark space lit from the side.

An asteroid collision may have formed a strange hybrid meteorite

NASA/JPL-Caltech

A meteorite that fell on Earth more than a century ago may contain some of the first concrete evidence for a cosmic smash-up in the early solar system.

Following the birth of our sun 4.5 billion years ago, it is thought that Jupiter’s formation caused two reservoirs of asteroids to gather in the solar system, one inside the giant planet’s orbit and one outside. The former are known as non-carbonaceous asteroids, because they are traditionally low in carbon, whereas the latter are …