Meteorites have been crashing into Earth since, like, forever—literally from when our planet was born 4.5 billion years ago! 🌍💫 But ever wondered where these cosmic rocks are actually coming from? Well, astronomers just figured it out, and it's pretty epic!
In a trio of new studies, scientists discovered that about 70% of meteorites hitting Earth are from just three asteroid groups chilling in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. 🪐 Talk about a cosmic hotspot!
By analyzing meteorites that have landed here and comparing them with asteroids in space, researchers could trace back these space rocks to their asteroid families. They even ran super cool simulations to model how these asteroid clans formed and evolved over time. Science FTW! 🧪✨
According to Miroslav Broz, an astronomer from Charles University in Prague, these asteroid families are basically like cosmic clans formed from collisions between asteroids. Imagine space bumper cars, but way more intense! 🚀💥
The Massalia family, formed around 40 million years ago, is responsible for 37% of known meteorites called L chondrites. Then there's the Karin and Koronis families, formed 5.8 and 7.6 million years ago respectively, accounting for 33% of meteorites known as H chondrites. That's a whopping 70% of meteorites traced back to their origins! 🌠
The rest? Well, about 8% come from the Flora and Nysa families, and another 6% from Vesta, one of the largest asteroids out there. There's still around 15% of meteorites that are a bit of a mystery, but scientists are on the case! 🔍
Why does this matter? Turns out, space rocks have had a huge impact on life on Earth—pun intended! Remember the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago? Yeah, that one changed everything. 🌋🦖
Understanding where these meteorites come from helps us get a grip on the history of our solar system and maybe even prepare for future space rock encounters. NASA's DART mission last year showed we could potentially nudge threatening asteroids off-course. Planetary defense, anyone? 🛡️🌌
So next time you see a shooting star, make a wish—but also know there's a wild story behind that cosmic traveler streaking across the sky! ✨🌠
Reference(s):
Astronomers trace the origin of meteorites that have struck Earth
cgtn.com
