An asteroid traveled for 23 million years before crashing into Earth and now scientists know where it came from By Sophie Lewis NASA attempts historic touchdown on asteroid
A small asteroid crashed into Earth three years ago and now scientists know where it came from. Researchers have traced the origins of the resulting rare meteorite fragments, which began the journey to Earth some 23 million years ago.
The asteroid, called 2018 LA, shot across the sky like a fireball before landing in Botswana on June 2, 2018. Researchers subsequently recovered 23 meteorites from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, a huge area known for its diverse wildlife.
Scientists Trace Origins Of 23-Million-Year-Old Asteroid That Hit Earth
A small asteroid crashed into Earth three years ago and now scientists know where it came from. Researchers have traced the origins of the resulting rare meteorite fragments, which began the journey to Earth some 23 million years ago.
The asteroid, called 2018 LA, shot across the sky like a fireball before landing in Botswana on June 2, 2018. Researchers subsequently recovered 23 meteorites from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, a huge area known for its diverse wildlife. The meteorite is named Motopi Pan after a local watering hole, Mohutsiwa Gabadirwe, the senior curator of the Botswana Geoscience Institute, said in a statement, referring to the first sample they found. This meteorite is a national treasure of Botswana.
An asteroid traveled for 23 million years before crashing into Earth and now scientists know where it came from By Sophie Lewis NASA attempts historic touchdown on asteroid
A small asteroid crashed into Earth three years ago and now scientists know where it came from. Researchers have traced the origins of the resulting rare meteorite fragments, which began the journey to Earth some 23 million years ago.
The asteroid, called 2018 LA, shot across the sky like a fireball before landing in Botswana on June 2, 2018. Researchers subsequently recovered 23 meteorites from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, a huge area known for its diverse wildlife.
A 22-Million-Year Journey From the Asteroid Belt to Botswana
Astronomers reconstructed a space rock’s path before it exploded over southern Africa in 2018 and sprinkled the Kalahari with meteorites.
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A full rotation of the asteroid Vesta, as seen from the Dawn spacecraft in 2011.CreditCredit.NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA; Little Mountain 5
By Robin George Andrews
Published April 29, 2021Updated May 5, 2021
On the morning of June 2, 2018, an asteroid was seen careening toward us at 38,000 miles per hour. It was going to impact Earth, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Astronomers were beside themselves with excitement.
Five feet long and weighing about the same as an adult African elephant, this space rock posed no threat. But the early detection of this asteroid, only the second to be spotted in space before hitting land, was a good test of our ability to spot larger, more dangerous asteroids. Moreover, it afforded scientists the chance to study the a
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