The gold-like rock was found by David Hole in Maryborough Regional Park back in 2015.
Discovering the Gold-Like Rock
Hole had a metal detector with him when he found the reddish and heavy rock that rested over some yellow clay.
He then brought it home with him and tried to open it up, feeling certain that the rock contained a gold nugget within it. This makes sense as Maryborough is situated in the Goldfields area, where the gold rush in Australia peaked during the 1900s.
The man tried using a drill, an angle grinder, a rock saw, and even acid-dousing to open the rock. However, these didn't work. Even a sledgehammer was not enough to crack it open.
It appears that the gold-like rock wasn't a gold nugget at all.
Gold-Like Rock Turns Out To Be a Meteorite
Hole still couldn't open the rock, but he was still intrigued by the finding. Hence, he took the rock to the Melbourne Museum to find out what it was.
It was then that Hole found out that the rock was actually a rare meteorite. Geologist Dermot Henry from the Melbourne Museum explains that the rock had a dimpled and sculpted look. These features are formed when meteorites enter the atmosphere. They externally melt, and the atmosphere ended up sculpting them.
Henry further explains that while he had looked at several rocks that individuals believed to be meteorites, there were only two offerings that were found to be actual meteorites. Hole's finding was one of the two.
Researchers then detailed the findings of the meteorite in a study entitled "Maryborough, a new H5 meteorite find from Victoria, Australia." The study detailed the 4.6 billion-year-old meteorite, which has been named Maryborough after the town where it was discovered.
The meteorite weighs 17 kilograms in total. The researchers used a diamond saw to take a chunk of the rock and found that it contained high iron content. This made the rock a H5 ordinary chondrite. When the rock is opened up, one may also observe small crystal droplets of metallic minerals known as chondrules.
Henry notes that meteorites serve as the cheapest way to explore space as they take humanity back in time and offer hints regarding the solar system's chemistry, formation, and age. Some also offer clues into the earth's deep interiors.
Some meteorites also have stardust that is older than the solar system itself. This shows the formation and evolution of stars to create periodic table of elements. Other rocks also contain amino acids, which are known to be the building blocks of life.
Henry explains that this meteorite could have come from the asteroid belt situated between Jupiter and Mars. Carbon dating also shows that the rock has been on Earth for around 100 to 1,000 years. There are also several meteor sightings from 1889 to 1951 that could match the meteorite's arrival.
The researchers posit that the meteorite is far rarer compared to gold, making it of great scientific value. The Mayborough meteorite is one of the 17 kinds that have been recorded in the state of Victoria. It is also the second largest when it comes to chondritic mass.
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