Meteors are objects in space that enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed and burn up, and can be seen as fireballs or “metes”. If a meteorite falls to the surface of the planet without being completely burned up, it is called a Meteorite. The Earth’s atmosphere usually acts as a barrier and burns these objects, but there are cases where this doesn’t happen and the debris reaches the Earth’s surface.
Oldest meteor hitherto
scientists in Australia recently discovered evidence of the oldest meteorite strike on Earth. Prior to this discovery, the oldest evidence of meteorite impacts was 3.47 billion-year-old spherical debris discovered in the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia. Now, researchers reveal that they have found evidence of a meteorite nearly 3.48 billion years old, making it the oldest meteorite discovery to date.
Chris Yakymchuk, a geologist at the University of Waterloo in Canada who was not involved in the study told LiveScience, “This new study records ejecta in slightly older rocks, which are 3.48 billion years old (about 10 million years older than what has been found previously). )”.
The study was carried out by drilling spheres from volcanic and sedimentary rocks in the same Pilbara Craton. Scientists date these rocks using isotopes. “This is a powerful and reliable dating technique. We know their age well based on isotope dating of the mineral zircon,” added Yakymchuk.
Why is it difficult to study meteorite impacts?
Gathering and studying evidence of asteroid impacts with Earth is difficult. According to LiveScience, the earth’s surface, known as the crust, is subject to plate tectonics as well as erosion by geological forces, which can erase signs of past collisions, particularly impact craters. Therefore, the only evidence left is the spheres, which scientists use for research purposes.
