Meteorite fragment makes an impact

10 May 2006

A fossilised fragment from a giant meteorite that crashed to Earth millions of years ago could lead to a re-think about the effects of asteroid collisions with our planet. The discovery is published in Nature this week.

An international research team uncovered the 25cm sized fragment, the first of its kind ever found, in the frozen magma pool at the bottom of the giant Morokweng crater in South Africa. The unique find will create a direct window to what was happening in the solar system at the time of impact, 144 million years ago.

Normally, meteorites are changed by the process of impact. Most are small and ineffective but a few cause huge craters on the Earth's surface wiping out everything in the affected area. Scientists previously believed that any asteroid capable of generating a crater larger than 4 kilometres in diameter would be totally destroyed on impact, but the new discovery challenges that view.

Morokweng is a much larger crater of 70 kilometres diameter, and suggests that the asteroid may have struck the Earth at a lower speed than has been generally assumed.

The researchers found the meteorite fragment whilst assisting a company searching for copper and nickel in the crater.

Dr Iain McDonald the UK team leader, of Cardiff University's School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences said, "This was a huge stroke of luck, as had the borehole been sited just a metre away, it may have missed the object altogether. For the first time it is possible to hold in your hand an actual piece of a giant asteroid that hit the Earth. This intact fragment may tell us a lot more about the insides of asteroids than we currently know."

Dr Adrian Boyce, of Glasgow University and Senior Research Fellow at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), added, "This story has a further twist as the fragment shows some striking differences when compared with other meteorites - such as its absence of iron-nickel metal. The composition suggests that the asteroid came from a source not found in other objects reaching the Earth so far."

To highlight its unique status, fragments of the asteroid will be on display at the Science Museum's Antenna news gallery from Thursday 11th May.

The international team came from South Africa, America, Canada and the universities of Cardiff, and Glasgow. The UK researchers were assisted by funds from the Leverhulme Trust and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) via its Isotope Community Support Facility.

Further information

Mike Findlay
Media Relations Officer
University of Glasgow
Tel: 0141 330-3535
Fax: 0141 330-5643

Stephen Rouse
Public Relations Officer
Cardiff University
Tel: 029 208 75596

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Notes

1. 'Discovery of a 25-cm asteroid clast in the giant Morokweng impact crater, South Africa' by W.D. Maier et al is published in Nature on 11 May 2006. Copies of the paper can be obtained from the university press offices.

2. The research involved in this project has been supported by various agencies in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada. In the UK, the principal support has been provided by the Leverhulme Trust and by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

3. The Leverhulme Trust is one of the largest all subjects providers of research funding in the UK, distributing funds of some £30 million every year. Further information about all of the schemes that the Leverhulme Trust fund is available from their website.

4. SUERC is funded by the Universities of Glasgow, and Edinburgh, with Aberdeen as an associate member, and is host to five NERC Isotope Facilities which provide analytical support to the UK scientific community. SUERC has a clear mission "to support, stimulate and carry out high quality basic, applied and strategic research within the Scottish university community, in the fields identified in the centre's research strategy. By teaching and training it contributes to the future supply of high quality scientists.

5. Cardiff University's School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences is one of the top geoscience units in the UK. It is a large research school with more than 30 leading international scientists. Researchers are addressing some of the most significant themes in world science, including global change, the origin of life, and the evolution of Earth and the planets.

6. The University of Glasgow is one of the UK's leading universities with an international reputation for its research and teaching and an important role in the cultural and commercial life of the country. With almost 16,000 undergraduate and 4,000 postgraduate students, it is one of the country's largest universities. Employing approximately 6,000 staff, it is a major employer in the city and, with an annual turnover of £285M, it makes a substantial contribution to the local economy.

7. NERC is one of the UK's research councils. It uses a budget of about £350m a year to fund and carry out impartial scientific research in the sciences of the environment. NERC trains the next generation of independent environmental scientists. It is addressing some of the key questions facing mankind, such as global warming, renewable energy and sustainable economic development.

Press release: 26/06

Meteorite fragment makes an impact

External links

Press links

Recent press news