A chunk of a meteorite, older than the Earth itself, was found in the Sahara Desert by hunters, in May 2020. Scientists believe that this rock is about 4.566 billion years old, despite the Earth being only around 4.543 billion years old.
This
makes the EC 002 a million years older than the oldest meteorite ever
discovered on planet Earth. The rock was found in the Erg Chech sand sea in
Algeria, which is why it was named Erg Chech 002 or EC 002 for short, based on
its landing site.
Scientists from a number of countries around the world are working on analyzing and studying this rock, working hard to understand this weird object which we do not know for sure where it came from.
Characteristics of This Ancient Meteorite
EC
002 is an ancient andesitic rock it is believed to be the oldest meteorite ever
discovered on planet Earth. EC 002 is not only older than the Earth but also
its components are very distinguished.
Whereas
most of the meteorites that land on Earth contain basalt, which is formed from
cooling lava meaning it is rich in magnesium and iron, the said rock is made of
58% silicon dioxide.
The
silicon percentage of the meteorite suggests that the original ancient body,
which the rock came from, is probably a protoplanet with a crust made of andesite,
a type of volcanic rock, and this chunk is from the crust of the parent
protoplanet and not the core.
The
mentioned type of rock is found in volcanically active regions on planet Earth.
Scientists also note that this type of crust -the andesitic crust- was commonly
present in the solar system's early days, but had become extremely rare
nowadays.
In
addition to the EC 002 being distinctive among the meteorites landed on earth,
it is also very distinguished from all the asteroid groups. The age of EC
002 is not the only reason scientists are interested in it, but the genesis of
the andesitic melts and the formation of this kind of crust outside planet
Earth.
The
meteorite was found in pieces, when combining these pieces they weigh about 32
kilograms (70.5 bounds), the fragments are multi-colored, they are tan and
beige, but they also have studs of crystals in many colors, such as: yellow,
green, and brown.
The
scientist, working on analyzing the EC 002, compared the behavior of it when
being exposed to the light with other rocks from the asteroid, but they could
not find any similarities.
The
odd results of this study do not indicate that is chunk is from another galaxy,
rather than this rock's original protoplanet is no longer exists in our current
solar system.
On
the other hand, because the age of the EC 002 is approximately the same as the
Earth's age, this means that the original protoplanet of the EC 002 may have
helped forming the earth.
What Is a Protoplanet?
Protoplanets
are astronomical bodies that never made it as a complete planet, such as our
planet Earth. Usually, protoplanets would either combine with larger bodies in
space or blow up by collisions with other astronomical bodies.
Yet,
the Erg Chech which is a chunk of an ancient protoplanet's crust landed safely
on Earth, only for us, humans, to discover and do research on it.
Even
though the EC 002 was discovered in spring 2020, the earthly erosion on it had
helped the scientists determine that the Erg Chech 002 landed way before that,
around 100 years before.
The
protoplanet from which EC 002 came was classified as Achondrite due to the components of
this chunk. Achondrite means "without chondrites", it is a stony
meteorite, and it is an igneous rock that is made from melted magma.
How
Will the Discovery of Erg Chech 002 Benefit Us?
This
rock is a witness to the first million years of the universe and the initial
formation of the solar system's planets. The Erg Chech had survived all kinds
of things that might have happened in space since the universe was created.
Furthermore,
the discovery of Erg Chech 002 -EC 002- provides a rare opportunity to enrich
our knowledge on how the universe was created from the dust and evolved over
time.
Also,
it will help us understand the early stages of planet formation, and learn more
about the conditions of the solar system's earliest days. Our universe has so
many mysterious secrets; scientists from all over the world are working day and
night, every day to try and reveal these secrets.
They
analyze everything they get their hands on, to give us some answers about a
number of the hardest questions in the history of humanity. And maybe Erg Chech
002 can help us get some of the answers to these questions.
Written
by – Leen Alrababah
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