METEORITE

METEORITE

Subject:  Science and Tech 

Context:

Researchers have decoded the nature of a meteorite that fell near Jaipur in 2017.

Concept:

A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon.

When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate energy.

It then becomes a meteor and forms a fireball, also known as a shooting star or falling star.

There are three main types of meteorites:

• Iron meteorites: which are almost completely made of metal.
• Stony-iron meteorites: which have nearly equal amounts of metal and silicate crystals.
• Stony meteorites: which mostly have silicate minerals.

Why study of a meteorite is important?

Studying meteorites are helpful because they contain a record of our solar system’s history going back some 4.6 billion years.

By studying meteorites, we can learn details about how our solar system evolved into the Sun and planets of today and how meteorite impacts could affect our future.

Findings from the study of meteorite that fell in Jaipur:

This is a type of stony meteorite, considered the most primitive meteorite and a remnant of the first solid bodies to accrete in the solar system. The composition of carbonaceous chondrites are also similar to the Sun, according to researchers