Erg Chech 002 was found under the sands of the Sahara desert and is believed to have fallen over 100 years ago.
Meteorites have always attracted the attention of the human being. Although they are similar to asteroids and comets, the truth is that there are differences between all of them. Meteorites are those rocks of different sizes that fall against the earth’s surface. Yes, it is true that we fear that it will happen to us like the dinosaurs, but They also tell us the history of our planet..
Recent studies carried out on a meteorite found in 2020 under the sands of the Sahara desert have shown that it is the oldest rock fallen to Earth found so far. This meteorite, designated as Erg Chech 002, was found by a group of meteor hunters. There are many fragments so it is not uncommon for it to be a well-known piece.
This meteorite is almost the same age as our Solar System
However, and as it collects Interesting Engineering in an article, this meteorite has a special featuresince it serves to know a little more about the universe and our Solar System.
The most special feature of this space object is its age and composition. The tests that have been carried out on the collected pieces have given as a result that it is a rock with no less than 4,566 million years old. That is why It has become the oldest meteorite of which human beings are aware..
If we compare their age on a chronological line, we will see this antiquity better. Popularly (and science has certified it) it has been said that the universe originated with the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. That initial burst that started it all. The meteorite does not come from this time, but it does have almost the same age as our Solar System. It is barely several million years younger.
Therefore, when the experts have been handling this space material, they were touching something that formed about the same time as our Sun and the other planets. This is real as false as it may seem. And not only that, thanks to other analyzes on its composition it has been possible to know that its structure and material derived from a volcanic eruption.
They photograph Erg Chech 002—(the oldest of all meteorites so far discovered, dated to the birth of the Sun): pic.twitter.com/H6X3RzAyQn
—Christian Bok (@christianbok) August 31, 2023
The thing does not stop here. The distant volcanic eruption that caused this rock happened on a protoplanet that was being created billions of years ago. That is to say, when the planets were still being formed, a large eruption threw part of its material into space and thus Erg Chech 002 was created.
Finally, it must be said that specifically this meteorite was larger in origin, but the impact with the earth’s crust reduced it to pieces the size of a fist. According to experts, remains can still be found at the point where it fell. Thanks to him we now know a little more about How the Solar System of which we are a part was created.