Alien minerals were found on a 15-ton meteorite that crashed in Africa. The two novel minerals were uncovered on the first day the sample was tested.
In a 15-ton meteorite that crashed in east Africa, a group of scientists from the University of Alberta identified at least two novel minerals never before observed on Earth.
The meteorite, discovered in Somalia in 2020, is the ninth biggest ever discovered. When scientists cut a two-ounce portion of the space rock, they discovered two new minerals called "elaliite" and "elkinstantonite". The minerals' specifics are still unknown.
"Whenever you find a new mineral, it means that the actual geological conditions, the chemistry of the rock, was different than what's been found before."That's what makes this exciting: In this particular meteorite you have two officially described minerals that are new to science," Chris Herd, a professor in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and curator of the University of Alber...