Little green visitors from Mercury have arrived on Earth.
Scientists have determined that strange green meteorites that appeared last year in Morocco may have come from the planet Mercury. The meteorites, named "NWA 7325," look to be from that planet rather than debris from an asteroid or Mars. The meteorites would be the first ever to be found coming from Mercury.
The find was revealed at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in the Woodlands, Texas. The meteorites have a lower magnetic intensity than any rock discovered thus far. The scientists date the "NWA 7325" meteorites to about 4.56 billion years old.
"It might be a sample from Mercury, or it might be a sample from a body smaller than Mercury but (which) is like Mercury," meteorite scientist Anthony Irving of the University of Washington said.
The researchers came to their conclusion with help from NASA's Messenger spacecraft. Data sent from the spacecraft reveals that the meteorites' low magnetic density mirrors that of Mercury. The meteorites are low in iron, a feature similar to Mercury's surface, which scientists also believe has a low iron level.
Mercury has been known to be a bit of a strange planet, and one that has been somewhat overlooked in the past. Irving proposes that the planet, which scientists claim originated as a molten lava ball, could have sustained a large impact in its early phase. That impact could have ejected this piece of rock into space, traveling for 4.5 billion years prior to its Earthly arrival. It is possible that the rock could have originated as "scum" on the lava's surface. However, it will take some time, as well as a sample from Mercury, to determine with certainty that the meteorite did in fact originate from the planet.
Irving's paper can be found here.
