21 JULY 2021
A small fragment of rock found lying in a field in Gloucestershire in the UK may not have looked like much to the casual passerby, but it could contain vital information about the formation of the Solar System – and the origins of life itself.
That s because it did not form here on Earth, but hails from somewhere out past the orbit of Mars. Kicked out by gravitational interactions or a collision between asteroids, the fragment tumbled across the vastness of space to end up punching through our atmosphere to land on Earth as a meteorite.
What has come to be known as the Winchcombe meteorite may, however, be no ordinary meteorite. Scientists are now conducting analyses to determine its composition, in the hopes of learning more about where it came from, and how it formed.
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Woodmancote meteorite is left over from the birth of the solar system, experts say
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