Scientists have found the first meteorite of terrestrial origin - it left Earth and returned thousands of years later

Jérôme Gattacceca, a geophysicist at France's National Centre for Scientific Research, has unveiled the first meteorite of terrestrial origin. But the discovery has yet to be confirmed by independent researchers.

Here's What We Know

The meteorite is believed to have appeared on Earth before leaving our planet. It was probably thrown into space as a result of the collision of our planet with a large asteroid. The second version is a volcanic eruption. But the probability is close to zero. Average eruptions throw rocks up to 45 kilometres high.

Analysis of the meteorite showed that it was born from a volcano at the junction of oceanic plates. The stone was given the catalogue name Northwest Africa (NWA) 13188. It was discovered five years ago in the Sahara in Morocco. The desert due to its white sands is an ideal place to search for meteorites along with Antarctica.

NWA 13188 has surface melting, which was caused by entering the dense atmosphere. Concentrations of neon-21, helium-3 and beryllium-10 are higher than in terrestrial rocks, but lower than in other meteorites. This is probably due to the fact that our hero was not long in space.

Scientists will study the concentration of the argon isotope to determine the age of the stone. If the discovery is confirmed, NWA 13188 will become the first meteorite of terrestrial origin found on Earth. 52 years ago, a rock from Earth was discovered on the Moon during the Apollo-14 mission.

Source: Science Alert