SOUTH AFRICA -- Geologists from Italy and France have recently discovered an organic matter from outer space in a 3-billion-year-old rock found in the mountains of South Africa. Thorough research and development have allowed the scientists to identify the existence of organic molecules particularly methane that has transformed into amino acids in space. Although there are questions as to how matter such as these reached the Earth, most scientists believe that it might be because of asteroids that contain carbon.
Scientists who are studying ancient rock formations in South Africa may have uncovered the oldest samples of these elements. Well-preserved extra-terrestrial molecules have been uncovered and it only opens doors to more discoveries in the future. Makhonjwa Mountains, also known as the Barberton Greenstone Belt, is a small mountain range that sits between the borders of Swaziland and South Africa. It is the 23-66 foot thick deposits of volcanic rocks of 3 billion years old were discovered. They call such formation as the Josefdal Chert.
Within layers of volcanic ash were layers that were later identified to be filled with carbon and probably deposited during the time when there were several volcanic activities recorded in the area. The whole region has also gone through numerous changes due to the presence of water, particularly from the shoreline. The report of such discovery was recently published in the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.
During their field campaigns, the group of researchers was able to collect samples similar to the size of a stamp. They sliced them into a few pieces for viewing under an electron microscope and later to identify its proton content using a particle accelerator. In essence, the process allowed researchers to measure the response of the electrons to the changing magnetic field. Several types of signals showed up in the sliced pieces. However, there was one part of the sample that showed a signal that is likened to meteorites that contained carbon.
Though it is no longer surprising to find extraterrestrial material on earth, scientists believe that such matter may have fallen on Earth during ancient times. What came as a surprise is how these samples were able to survive 3 billion years on Earth. They, however, proposed that the survival of such matter may have been caused by how it got to the planet. The meteor impact may have formed a layer of dust in the atmosphere that allowed it to settle beneath a protective layer of volcanic ash.
