As of: February 6, 2024, 3:02 p.m
By: Tanja Banner
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The meteorites that were found after an asteroid impact near Berlin are of a rare type.
They are Aubrites.
Berlin - The asteroid that entered the Earth's atmosphere near Berlin on the night of January 20th to 21st and burned up was apparently made of a rare rock.
This is suggested by initial analyzes of meteorites found near the crash site.
According to the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, initial results from the examination of more than 20 meteorite samples show that it was a rare aubrite.
Experts had already suspected this before the first pieces of meteorite were discovered.
Meteorites are pieces of rock that fell to Earth from outer space.
In the current case, they come from the asteroid that burned up in the Earth's atmosphere.
Asteroids are very exciting objects for research: They are remnants from the time when the solar system was formed and are suspected of possibly having brought water or the building blocks of life to Earth.
Meteorites are also exciting for collectors - they can sometimes be very valuable.
After an asteroid impact: Meteorite finds near Berlin reveal rare material
Meteorite collectors from several countries have traveled near Berlin to find the valuable pieces of rock.
The meteor astronomer Peter Jenniskens from the SETI Institute in the USA also came to Germany for this reason - and was successful with his search team.
“They were devilishly difficult to find because from a distance they look like other rocks on Earth,” he recalled in a statement.
Several meteorites were found at the crash site near Berlin.
© Cevin Dettlaff/dpa
Despite advice from experts who were able to predict what type of meteorite it was based on the light emitted by the fireball, Jenniskens says his team was initially unable to easily detect them.
“We only discovered the meteorites after a Polish team of meteorite hunters identified the first find and showed us what to look for,” the researcher continued.
“After that, our first finds were quickly made by two students.”
Analysis of meteorites: Aubrites come from an asteroid
Analysis of the meteorites showed the typical mineralogy and chemical composition of an aubrite-type achondrite.
The name “Aubrit” has its origins in the French town of Aubrés, where a meteorite of this type fell to earth in 1836.
A piece of such an aubrite is exhibited in the Museum of Natural History, which helped identify the new meteorite.
“Based on these clues, we were able to make a rough classification relatively quickly,” emphasizes Ansgar Greshake, scientific director of the museum’s meteorite collection.
“This underlines the immense importance of collections for research.
To date, there is only material from eleven other observed impacts of this type in meteorite collections worldwide.”
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Aubrite-type meteorites are difficult to detect
One problem when searching for aubrites is their appearance, as Christopher Hamann from the Museum für Naturkunde explains: “Aubrites don't look the way you generally imagine meteorites.
Aubrites look more like gray granite and consist mainly of the magnesium silicates enstatite and forsterite.” They hardly contain any iron, Hamann continues.
The glassy crust by which meteorites can usually be recognized also looks completely different than that of most other meteorites.
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