4.6 billion-year-old meteorite crashing into Earth solves the mystery of water on our planet

In February 2021, an extremely rare carbon-based meteorite crashed in Gloucestershire in the South West of England. The meteorite, which illuminated the skies of England and called Winchcombe, was immediately taken from the place it fell in a controlled manner and investigations began.

Additionally, the Winchcombe meteorite takes its name from the village of Winchcombe, where the meteorite fell on February 28, 2021 and was quickly captured. A year after it was detected and studied, experts from the Natural History Museum and the University of Glasgow determined that the 4.6 billion-year-old meteorite contained extraterrestrial water. This breakthrough shows that the trace of water on Earth can be traced to asteroids in the outer reaches of our system. The results of the study were published in Science Advances.

“The rapid detection and preservation of Winchcombe makes it one of the most intact meteorites available for analysis and offers scientists a compelling glimpse into the original composition of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago,” said Ashley King, who was involved in the study. .

The Winchcombe meteorite is a rare CM carbon chondrite class meteorite containing two percent carbon. Chondrites are stony meteorites that have not changed due to melting or differentiation from the main material they belong to.

11 percent extraterrestrial water discovered in meteorite

The team working on the meteorite performed detailed imaging and chemical analysis and found that Winchcombe contains about 11 percent extraterrestrial water. When the team measured the ratio of hydrogen isotopes in water, they also found that it was very similar to the composition of water on Earth. The meteorite fragments also contained extraterrestrial amino acids necessary for the origin of life.

As a result of the researches, it is emphasized that carbonaceous asteroids play an important role in providing the materials needed to start the oceans and life on Earth. The team also discovered that the Winchcombe meteorite is part of the asteroid near Jupiter.

Luke Daly, lecturer in Planetary Geoscience at the University of Glasgow and author of the paper, said: “One of the biggest questions the scientific community is asking is how we got here. This analysis on the Winchcombe meteorite provides insight into how Earth has water, the source of so much life.” said. Finally, the researchers will continue their work on the meteorite.