Jakarta –
MeteoriteWinchcombe is said to have a very important role because this rock contains the origins of the formation of the Earth. This meteorite was observed entering Earth’s atmosphere as a fireball over Gloucestershire, England in February 2021.
Reported from detikInet, Sunday (15/1/2023), experts have confirmed that these rocks from outer space contain amino acids, organic compounds that are essential for life on Earth. Although the concentrations of amino acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in this meteorite were not as high as in some other asteroid remnants (only 1.1 and 6.2 parts per million, respectively), that made the discovery even more exciting.
In fact, in a recent research paper, it was stated that the Winchcombe meteorite not only contained organic matter but also appeared to represent a new class of meteorite. Some of the material contained in the Winchcombe meteorite was altered in ways that suggest there were at least three brief bursts of liquid water on the asteroid bodies it came from.
Without a spectacular sky, of course, this meteorite will not reach Earth. Thanks to footage from personal cameras and a network of fireball trackers, scientists can now determine the object’s flight path and then use it to calculate the orbit of the asteroid from which the meteorite originated.
Quoted from IFL Science, if the composition of meteorites and previous orbits can be matched together, then the potential contribution to understanding the evolution of the Solar System will increase.
Details from the British fireball network also make the Winchcombe meteorite one of the first 40 meteorites whose origins within the asteroid belt can be traced.
Just two weeks after this meteorite was discovered, there have been reports of water-bearing minerals. Winchcombe stands out as a carbonaceous chondrite that makes up only 4% of meteorites and, meteorites are even thought to have seeded life on Earth.
“Studying the organic inventory of the Winchcombe meteorite gives us a window into how simple chemistry started life at the birth of our Solar System,” said Dr Queenie Chan of Royal Holloway University of London.
“Finding these life precursor organic molecules allows us to understand the fall of similar matter to the Earth’s surface, prior to the emergence of life on our own planet.”
Scientists also discovered the fact that there are a number of features that have never been seen before in a meteorite in this Winchcombe rock. These rocks contain a low abundance of amino acids for carbonaceous chondrites, but also have unusual ratios of amino acids to the PAHs present.
Scientists think Winchcombe was originally part of a large asteroid, and that the part that hit Earth’s atmosphere was knocked out in a collision before wandering through space for a long time.
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