New minerals identified in giant meteorite

Scientists at the Canadian University of Alberta have identified at least two new minerals in the El Ali meteorite. The third is under investigation. The discovery was presented at the Space Research Symposium.

The meteorite, which was found to be a celestial body near the city of El Ali in the Hiiraan region of Somalia in 2020, has been attracting the attention of enthusiasts ever since.

Having a “rock” sample, researchers from the University of Alberta have identified minerals that never occur naturally on Earth.

New minerals named andlaliitreferring to the meteorite itself and the discovery site, and elkinstantoniteIt is named after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator for NASA’s Psyche Mission.

Elements consisting of a mixture of polonium, oxygen and iron give clues about the formation of the meteorite, revealing the interactions between the elements and how they might have been combined.

Identification of new materials was carried out very quickly. The minerals were already produced synthetically and the data was already known.

However, this does not eliminate the novelty, for the compositions are observed naturally for the first time.

For scientists, this is an opportunity to study and classify new elements that may have practical uses in our daily lives in the future.

But there may be a problem to further the research: Al Ali is “missing”. There was a move to commercialize the meteorite after it was classified as a celestial body.

The researchers hope that more pieces will be made available for study by contributing to science’s growing understanding of the formation of celestial objects, and perhaps to understanding how planets form.