Scientists Traced a Rare Meteorite Chunk on UK Driveway; Does It Contain Solar System's Ingredients?

Scientists have retrieved the precious remnants of an eye-popping 300-gram fireball on a driveway in the United Kingdom after reconstructing the fireball's flight route of the rare meteorite blasted through England and Northern Europe on February 28.

Doorbell cameras, car dashcams, a dedicated network of cameras across the United Kingdom captured the fireball flying across the region for a few seconds.

According to CNN, the space rock was flying at more than 31,000 mph when it collided with the Earth's atmosphere and landed on a Winchcombe driveway. The UK Fireball Alliance camera networks and other footage helped scientists locate the meteorite.

What Did This British Family Do With The Meteorite That Landed On Their Driveway?

Rob Wilcock, his wife Cathryn, and their daughter Hannah are taken aback when they realized the most valuable space rock hit their property.

They told BBC they're still "pinching" themselves to believe that something unusual happened on their driveway.

The Wilcock family first became aware of it when they heard a distant thud outside their home a few weeks ago.

Hannah recalled she stood up and looked out the window to see what was there when she heard something. However, she couldn't see anything because it was dark.

Researchers used imagery from different angles to limit the drop zone. When they went to the media on Monday to make an appeal, they hoped one or two people would come forward with an insightful discovery.

The family donated the meteorite fragments to the Natural History Museum of London's national archive. They decided that the rock should go to science rather than a dealer.

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Richard Greenwood, a planetary scientist at the Open University, was astounded by the Wilcocks' photograph.

He expressed his delight that something so important to science, human knowledge of the universe, and the Solar System had occurred, and that we might play a small role in it.

How Special Is This Meteorite That Landed on the Driveway?

Experts told Space.com the meteorite fragment is the first meteorite detected in the UK since 1991 and the country's first confirmed carbonaceous chondrite. According to astronomers, the fragment originated from the main asteroid belt's outer reaches between Mars and Jupiter.

Carbonaceous chondrites are exceptionally pure and primitive meteorites, with a lot of organic content, including complex molecules including amino acids. According to researchers, carbonaceous chondrites should be used to learn more about the early solar system and how the building blocks of life made their way to Earth.

The extraterrestrial rock, which is now on display at the Natural History Museum in London, is "extremely rare."

The museum said the family recovered the fragments in such fine shape and so soon after the meteorite's fall. According to the museum, the fragments are similar in consistency and quantity to rock samples returned from space missions.

Ashley King, a meteorite scientist at the museum, said the person who found the meteorite carefully packed up most of the fragments less than 12 hours after the incident. The piece, she said, is as black as coal, but it's much lighter and more delicate.

Sara Russell, another meteorite scientist at the museum, said there are about 65,000 confirmed meteorites in the universe. Still, she said only 51 of them are carbonaceous chondrites that have been observed falling like this one.

"It is almost mind-blowingly amazing, because we are working on the asteroid sample-return space missions Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx, and this material looks exactly like the material they are collecting," Russell said. "I am just speechless with excitement."

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