Scientists have announced the discovery of what could be Earth's first meteorite from Mercury, The Huffington Post reports.
A green rock discovered in Morocco has led scientists to believe that they may have discovered what could be Earth's first meteorite from Mercury. The discovery, which was actually made last year, was unveiled by meteorite scientist Anthony Irving at the 44th annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas late last month. The new findings stated the rock, now called NWA 7325, was from the Mercury and wasn't an asteroid or from Mars.
"It might be a sample from Mercury, or it might be a sample from a body smaller than Mercury but [which] is like Mercury," Irving said during his talk. A large impact could have shot NWA 7325 out from Mercury to Earth.
Irvin, who has been studying meteorites for years and is also an Earth and Space Sciences professor at the University of Washington, said that the NWA 7325 was nothing like the other meteorites found on Earth before. Reportedly, the rock dates back to roughly 4.56 billion years ago, leading scientists to believe that there could be much more buried in the Earth's soil.
He also said that he thinks the space rock was first created and then ejected from a planet or other body that had flowing magma on its surface at some point in its history. The rock could have also been "scum" on the top of the magma, Irvin told Space.com.
