An older meteorite was discovered in Algeria last year, according to a recent investigation, ScienceAlert says.
The space rock is a remarkable wonder that might provide never-before-seen insights about the early years of our solar system, according to an international team of scientists who conducted the investigation.
The rock asteroid was discovered in the Erg Check sand sea in May and was immediately recognized as remarkable because, unlike other meteorites, it had obviously been created by a volcano, suggesting that it may have been part of a planet's crust.
However, an examination of the radioactive decay of the sample's isotopes revealed, as detailed in a recent report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that it originated roughly 4.566 billion years ago. Since it is a little longer than the Earth's age, it was presumably formerly a part of an other, possibly extinct globe.
What protoplanet the asteroid may have come from is not immediately apparent.
However, the researchers noted in their report that as it is now the oldest magmatic rock yet found, it will almost certainly be the subject of much future examination. And what researchers discover by examining the old fragment could provide fresh information about the past of our solar system.
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