Scientists analysing a meteorite have discovered the oldest material known to exist on Earth. Upto 7.5 billion years old

[HAL9000]

Impressive that they've found something significantly older than the sun (the Sun is 4.6 billion years old and the Earth is 4.5 billion. )

They found dust grains within the space rock - which fell to Earth in the 1960s - that are as much as 7.5 billion years old.

The oldest of the dust grains were formed in stars that roared to life long before our Solar System was born.

A team of researchers has described the result in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

When stars die, particles formed within them are flung out into space. These "pre-solar grains" then get incorporated into new stars, planets, moons and meteorites.

Oldest material on Earth discovered

Scientists analysing a meteorite discover material that is older than the Solar System itself.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Detroit City]

totally cool

 

[CNT36]

More meteorite material news --http://www.sciencealert.com/superconductivity-has-been-discovered-in-meteorites-for-the-first-time

 

[editor]

More meteorite material news --http://www.sciencealert.com/superconductivity-has-been-discovered-in-meteorites-for-the-first-time

Interesting!

Scientists have found naturally occurring superconducting materials in extraterrestrial objects for the first time, discovering superconductive grains embedded inside two distinct meteorites that crash-landed on Earth.

The discovery is just the latest to show that meteorites are much more than space debris that falls out of the sky. Recent investigations have turned up meteorite-borne deliveries of possible extraterrestrial proteins, minerals we've never encountered, and materials older than the Solar System itself. But we've never seen something quite like this before.

Superconductivity is a set of physical properties that ensures 'perfect' electrical conductivity in a material, meaning all electrical resistance inside the material vanishes, among other effects. This prized phenomenon is incredibly rare in natural materials that haven't been specially treated – or, at least, it's rare on Earth.