Nearly 300 grams (10.6 ounces) of the meteorite was collected from the small town of Winchcombe in Gloucestershire by scientists, who said the rock was formed from carbonaceous chondrite. The substance is one of the most primitive and pristine materials in the solar system and is known to contain organic matter and amino acids – the ingredients for life.
The Natural History Museum in London said the fragments were found in such good condition and so fast after the fall of the meteorite that it is comparable to rock samples returned from space missions, both in quality and quantity.
“I was shocked when I saw it and immediately knew it was a rare meteorite and a totally unique event. It’s emotional that I’m the first one to confirm to the people standing in front of you that the rumble they are heard in their driveway overnight, in the real thing, ‘said Richard Greenwood, a research fellow in planetary sciences at The Open University, in a statement from the museum, who was the first scientist to identify the meteorite.
There are about 65,000 known meteorites on Earth, the museum said. Only 1,206 witnessed the fall, of which only 51 are carbonaceous chondrites.
The fireball was seen by thousands of eyewitnesses in the UK and Northern Europe and was captured on house surveillance and other cameras when it hit the ground at 21:54 GMT. on 28 February.
The original space rock traveled at almost 14 kilometers per second before hitting Earth’s atmosphere and eventually landing on a driveway in Winchcombe. Other pieces of the meteorite were recovered in the local area.
“Almost all meteorites come to us from asteroids, the remaining building blocks of the solar system that can tell us how planets like the earth formed. The opportunity to be one of the first people to see and study a meteorite that was recovered almost immediately after falling is a dream come true! ‘said Ashley King, British future research and innovation leader in the Department of Earth Sciences.
Meteorites are much older than any rock on earth. They usually travel thousands of years through space before being captured – usually by the sun, but sometimes by the earth, the museum said. As these cosmic objects move through the atmosphere, they sometimes deliver a bright fireball before landing on Earth, as was the case with this meteorite.
According to the museum, fragments of the meteorite – such as black stones, piles of small rock or even dust – can still be found.