Asteroid's remains found

A black chunk of rock found in the Sudan desert. The rock is a leftover from the asteroid 2008 TC3. --PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON: For the first time, scientists have matched a meteorite found on Earth with a specific asteroid that became a fireball plunging through the sky.

Last October, astronomers tracked a small non-threatening asteroid heading towards Earth before it became a 'shooting star', something that had not been done before. The asteroid blew up in the sky and scientists thought there would be nothing left to examine.

But a painstaking search by dozens of students through the remote Sudan desert came up with 3.9kg of black jagged rocks, leftovers from the asteroid 2008 TC3. And those dark rocks were full of surprises and minuscule diamonds, according to a study published yesterday in the journal Nature.

The asteroid, which mostly burned in the atmosphere, is likely a leftover from when chunks of rock tried and failed to become a planet about 4.5 billion years ago, scientists said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Thought we had a discussion on meteoroids, this article seemed interesting.

Posted by Mr Wan