Scientists have found a meteorite on Earth older than the planet itself

Scientists estimate the age of the find at 4.6 billion years, while the age of the Earth is 4.54

billion years old. To date, this is the oldest meteorite found on Earth. The meteorite was given the name Winchcombe after the name of the village near which it was found.

In order to study the find, the authorsused electron microscopy, vibrational spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction: this will give detailed information about the crystal structure, chemical phases and molecular interactions of a substance.

According to the authors, the meteorite consists of particles and dust that have never been subjected to strong cosmic collisions, that is, they did not participate in the formation of protoplanetary bodies. 

Internal structure - fragile and looseconnected, porous, cracked. It does not appear to have undergone thermal metamorphism. This means that he was there, beyond Mars, untouched before any of the planets were created. This is a rare opportunity to explore a piece of our pristine past.

Sean Fowler, optical and electron microscopy specialist at the Center for Materials Science at Loughborough University

The ancient meteorite is a rare example of a carbonaceous chondrite - a space rock with organic material. 

The authors believe that studying a meteorite that existed before the origin of life on Earth will help to understand the causes and chemistry of this process. 

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