Rock found in Egypt could be the remnant of a supernova explosion

Space

Technological innovation website editor – 05/18/2022

extraterrestrial rock

A well-known and controversial stone, possibly of extraterrestrial origin, made headlines.

It is now claimed that the rock of Hypsia, found in Egypt in 1996, could have been the result of a Type Ia supernova explosion.

Since it was discovered, several teams have analyzed the curious rock, but conclusions have varied widely, from claims that it could have originated right here on Earth to speculation that it was either a type of meteorite or even a rock behind it. outside. Solar system.

Jan Kramers and his colleagues at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa conducted a new analysis and arrived at perhaps the most “radical” conclusion reached so far.

“In a sense, we could say we ‘caught’ the Ia supernova explosion ‘in action’ because the gas atoms from the explosion were captured by the surrounding dust cloud, which eventually formed Hippocia’s parent body,” Kramers said. said.

forensic chemistry

The team claims to have performed “forensic chemistry” on several samples, ruling out all “cosmic suspects” in the origin of the rock, which has a curious composition full of microdiamonds and an almost complete absence of silicates.

“Instead of exploring all the incredible anomalies that Hippokia represents, we wanted to find out if there is unity at the core. We wanted to see if there was any consistent chemical structure in the stone,” the researcher said.

To do this, 17 targets were selected in the sample far from terrestrial minerals formed in cracks in the original rock that fell to Earth, possibly millions of years ago.

“We found a consistent pattern of micronutrient abundance that is completely different from anything in the solar system, whether primitive or evolved. Objects in the asteroid belt and meteors do not match this either. So we are looking beyond the solar system,” he said. Kramers said.

A large amount of iron and a small amount of silicon and other elements heavier than iron ruled out the possible origin of the stone from a red giant star, which is very common in the universe.

A Type II supernova also did not fit the explanation due to the large amount of iron and the presence of minerals such as nickel phosphide.

A much rarer Type Ia supernova, one of the largest sources of iron in the universe. And so the team followed.

The rock samples studied by the team are next to the coin for size comparison.
[Imagem: Jan D. Kramers et al./University of Johannesburg]

type Ia supernova

Looking at what you would expect to find in a supernova, eight of the 15 elements analyzed are within the predicted proportion ranges relative to iron: silicon, sulfur, calcium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, and nickel.

However, not all of the 15 elements analyzed in Hyptius match the predictions. In six of them, proportions were 10 to 100 times higher than the ranges predicted by theoretical models for type 1a supernovae: aluminum, phosphorus, chlorine, potassium, copper, and zinc. But that wasn’t enough for the team to abandon their hypothesis.

“Because a white dwarf formed from a dying red giant, Hippokia could have inherited these ratios of elements to the red giant’s six elements. This phenomenon has been observed in white dwarfs in other studies,” says Kramers.

If this hypothesis is correct, the Hippokias rock will be the first physical evidence of a supernova explosion on Earth, one of the most energetic events in the universe.

But given the history of research on the enigmatic stone, one can predict that with the publication of this new work, new, somewhat explosive opinions will appear, and it is reasonable to wait for new analyzes and new hypotheses.

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