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It was in fragments of an asteroid that exploded over Russia in 2013 that a team of scientists discovered crystals of an entirely new type.
Researchers have found never-before-seen crystals in meteorite dust, Livescience reports. These residues belong to a meteorite which had caused a stir – in every sense of the term – on February 15, 2013: an asteroid whose size was estimated at 18 meters exploded on entering the Earth’s atmosphere, triggering the Russian city of Chelyabinsk and its surroundings a veritable bombardment of projectiles of various sizes. The largest had done serious damage and there were more than 1,200 injured, fortunately not serious in most cases. The explosion itself, which occurred at 23,000 meters above sea level, had released a force equivalent to 30 times Hiroshima and caused a flash of light brighter than the sun. This event, the largest of its kind since the beginning of the 20th century, reminded us of how vulnerable the Earth is to asteroids.
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It was by analyzing the dust left by the meteorites under an electron microscope that the scientists discovered these unprecedented crystalline structures, presented in an article published by the journal The European Physical Journal Plus.
These crystals are present in two distinct forms; quasi-spherical shells and hexagonal rods. “These are unique morphological particularities”, enthuse the researchers.
“Further analysis using X-rays revealed that the crystals are made up of layers of graphite – a form of carbon commonly used in pencils – surrounding a central nanocluster at the heart of the crystal,” Livescience said, citing the scientists.
The team hypothesizes that the crystals formed during the explosion under the effect of heat and excessive pressure. The next step for the researchers now is to study other meteorite fragments to determine if these crystals are truly unique or if they are the result of a recurring process.