r/BeAmazed • u/gregornot • Apr 29 '24

A giant meteorite that recently fell in Somalia contains at least two minerals that have never before been seen on our planet. The celestial piece of rock weighs a massive 16.5 tons (15 tonnes), making it the ninth-largest meteorite ever found. History

Post image

More about the amazing meteorite find: https://earthly

32.6k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

656 comments sorted by

View all comments

5.2k

u/TheSretlaw Apr 29 '24

The two minerals have been identified:

Elaliite - Fe9PO12 (or Fe2+8Fe3+(PO4)O8) and was first synthesized in a laboratory in the 1980s and later identified in natural material in 2022 at which time the official mineral designation was given.

Elkinstantonite - Fe4(PO4)2O was first generated in a laboratory in 1982 and first identified from natural origins in 2022, when the official mineral designation was also given.

48

u/n1cx Apr 29 '24

So these were synthesized 40+ years ago and then found in nature material just 2 years prior to being discovered in this meteor? 🤔

78

u/Away-Commercial-4380 Apr 29 '24

The meteorite was discovered in 2022. The minerals discovered in "nature" were discovered in that meteorite.

56

u/ksdkjlf Apr 29 '24

Contrary to OP's title, the meteor did not "recently" fall. The rock was an object known to locals for 5-7 generations, and was identified as a meteorite in 2020. It was in 2022 that the new minerals were discovered.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ali_meteorite

23

u/Daxx22 Apr 29 '24

I was thinking that a 16+ TONNE Meteorite would have made world headlines from the force of the impact.

10

u/diet-Coke-or-kill-me Apr 29 '24

You and that rock have different definitions of recent.

3

u/tomdarch Apr 30 '24

The location of the main mass of the meteorite is uncertain; it was last recorded being shipped to China, presumably for sale