TORONTO --
A 4.6 billion-year-old meteorite discovered this spring in the U.K. predates our solar system, researchers say, and may provide insights into how life on Earth came to be.
The tiny meteorite was found in a field in Gloucestershire, resting in a horseshoe impression. It was spotted by Derek Robson, director of astrochemistry at the East Anglian Astrophysical Research Organization (EAARO), who was out searching for fragments of a meteorite with a team of space researchers after a “bright yellow-green fireball” streaked through the skies at the end of February, according to a Facebook post from EAARO.
The team had received special permission to go search for meteorite fragments during a COVID-19 lockdown. Around a month after the fireball lit up the skies, a dark stone was spotted by Robson, shining with iridescence in the mud.