Meteorite Remains Traced to Enigmatic ‘Ceres-Sized Unknown Object’, Media Says

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Meteorite Remains Traced to Enigmatic 'Ceres-Sized Unknown Object', Media Says

While the parent body of the meteorite studied by the research team is reportedly believed to no longer exist, its very presence in our solar system suggests that other similar objects “could potentially have done the same”.

Having studied the remains of a meteorite that exploded above Sudan back in 2008, a team of scientists managed to obtain important clues about the nature of its parent body, Science Alert reports.

Having subjected to spectral analysis a 50-milligram sample (AhS 202) of the space rock designated 2008 TC3, whose fragments showered upon the surface of our planet over a decade ago, the researchers found “an extremely rare form of hydrated crystals… known as amphibole”, the media outlet notes.

The scientists reportedly postulate that 2008 TC3 might have originated from a larger body whose size would be comparable to dwarf planet Ceres, as most carbonaceous chondrite parent bodies “are thought to be less than 100 km in diameter, and thus would not be sufficiently large to produce the range of pressure and temperature conditions represented by the mineral assemblage” in the shard that they examined.

The media outlet also points out that while this parent body “is thought to no longer exist”, the very fact of its previous presence in our solar system suggests that “more of its kind could potentially have done the same”.

Sourse: sputniknews.com

Meteorite Remains Traced to Enigmatic ‘Ceres-Sized Unknown Object’, Media Says

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