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| Meteorite could hold solar clues | Meteorite could hold solar clues |
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| A rare type of meteorite that could hold clues to the birth of our Solar System has been bought by London's Natural History Museum. | A rare type of meteorite that could hold clues to the birth of our Solar System has been bought by London's Natural History Museum. |
| The chemistry in the Ivuna meteorite is thought to contain information about the conditions that gave rise to the Sun and planets 4.5 billion years ago. | |
| It landed in Tanzania in 1938 as one 705g stone, since split into samples. | It landed in Tanzania in 1938 as one 705g stone, since split into samples. |
| Pieces from the UK sample, the largest in any public collection in the world, will be removed for study. | Pieces from the UK sample, the largest in any public collection in the world, will be removed for study. |
| Most Ivuna samples are held in private collections, or by the Tanzanian government. It's a particularly important specimen to science because it's been so well preserved Dr Caroline Smith,Natural History Museum | Most Ivuna samples are held in private collections, or by the Tanzanian government. It's a particularly important specimen to science because it's been so well preserved Dr Caroline Smith,Natural History Museum |
| Ivuna is extremely rare - just nine of the 35,000 known meteorites, or 0.03%, share similar chemistry. | |
| It is a so-called carbonaceous chondrite. It contains dust granules that may have been part of the cloud of material that came together to form our Solar System. | |
| Unlike most rock found in our stellar neighbourhood, it has not been altered by major heating sometime in its history and, as such, gives researchers a remarkable view on the past. | |
| Dr Caroline Smith, meteorite curator at the Natural History Museum (NHM), told BBC News: "These types of meteorite are very susceptible to alteration on Earth. Changes in humidity, for example, can change their composition. | Dr Caroline Smith, meteorite curator at the Natural History Museum (NHM), told BBC News: "These types of meteorite are very susceptible to alteration on Earth. Changes in humidity, for example, can change their composition. |
| "But this meteorite is important as it fell relatively recently and has been kept under nitrogen in a sealed environment for the last two or three decades. | "But this meteorite is important as it fell relatively recently and has been kept under nitrogen in a sealed environment for the last two or three decades. |
| "It's a particularly important specimen to science because it's been so well preserved. We're all incredibly excited about it because it's so pristine." | "It's a particularly important specimen to science because it's been so well preserved. We're all incredibly excited about it because it's so pristine." |
| Monica Grady, professor of planetary sciences at the Open University in Milton Keynes, commented: "This is fantastic for the UK's meteorite experts. This material represents the crumbs from the foundation of the Solar System. It's an unbelievable opportunity to study it in close-up. | Monica Grady, professor of planetary sciences at the Open University in Milton Keynes, commented: "This is fantastic for the UK's meteorite experts. This material represents the crumbs from the foundation of the Solar System. It's an unbelievable opportunity to study it in close-up. |
| "The museum has been very bold in acquiring it." | "The museum has been very bold in acquiring it." |
| One question that Ivuna could help answer is how the chemical building blocks for life came to Earth. | One question that Ivuna could help answer is how the chemical building blocks for life came to Earth. |
| Important components of so-called pre-genetic material, the amino acids b-alanine and glycine, were found in Ivuna in a 2001 study. | Important components of so-called pre-genetic material, the amino acids b-alanine and glycine, were found in Ivuna in a 2001 study. |
| Last week, scientists at Imperial College London confirmed that a meteorite called Murchison contained extra-terrestrial molecules that were the precursors to DNA and RNA. | Last week, scientists at Imperial College London confirmed that a meteorite called Murchison contained extra-terrestrial molecules that were the precursors to DNA and RNA. |
| In addition to being used for research, Ivuna will be a star specimen in a new meteorites gallery, which the NHM is planning for the near future. | In addition to being used for research, Ivuna will be a star specimen in a new meteorites gallery, which the NHM is planning for the near future. |
| "The plan is to take the meteorite to Nasa's Johnson Space Center in Houston, where we'll have a 20g piece taken off and that will be sub-divided into two 10g pieces," Dr Smith explained. | "The plan is to take the meteorite to Nasa's Johnson Space Center in Houston, where we'll have a 20g piece taken off and that will be sub-divided into two 10g pieces," Dr Smith explained. |
| "One piece will be put to one side. The other will be divided into 200mg allocations - less than the size of your fingernail - for researchers to study." | "One piece will be put to one side. The other will be divided into 200mg allocations - less than the size of your fingernail - for researchers to study." |