A group of researchers from Canada announced that they have discovered two new minerals after analysis Fallen 15-ton meteorite in Somalia, East Africa. The third mineral is still being researched by scientists.
Since scientists from the University of Alberta used a 70-gram meteorite sample, it is possible that other unknown components are present in it.
The ninth-largest space rock ever found on the planet was discovered in a sparsely populated area of the country and contains several elements never before found in nature.
The meteorite is about 2m wide and began to be studied in 2020, but for generations it has been the subject of songs and poems by shepherds from the Hiraan region, where it is called the Nightfall. Locals also sharpen knives on the surface of the mineral.
According to university announcementthe minerals were named “elaliite” and “elkinstantonite” – after the name of the meteor named “El Ali” and explorer Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator of NASA’s Psyche mission.
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Chris Hurd, a professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and curator of the collection, said in a statement that similar minerals had already been synthesized in laboratories in the 1980s but had never been found in nature.
“I never thought that I would be involved in the description of new minerals, just working with a meteorite,” Hurd said.
Researchers need larger stone fragments for analysis, but according to unconfirmed reports, they were brought to China, possibly in preparation for a future auction.
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