Imagine you have one of the oldest objects in the solar system in your collection. A stone that remembers the formation of our solar system. It's travelled through space, travelled unimaginable distances to end up in your display case. Isn't that a beautiful ending to a journey that has lasted billions of years?
Chondrites were formed exactly 4.56 billion years ago, several million years after the birth of the solar system, making them one of the oldest known materials in the solar system. They have not undergone any changes in their entire existence, and it is thanks to them that we can imagine what material the planets were made of. Including our own.
Chondrites are the most common meteorites we find on Earth, but every piece is different. The last part of its journey was the most exciting, and as it passed through the atmosphere, its surface underwent many changes that will make you realise that the rock is truly of extraterrestrial origin.
How do you know chondrite with the naked eye?
The first evidence of its extraterrestrial origin is its dark crust. This is caused by the melting of the meteorite's surface as it passes through our planet's atmosphere. It is also proof of the Earth's perfect protection and the difficulty of the meteorite's journey to its surface.
The second piece of evidence is the so-called regmaglypts.Regmaglypts are depressions carved into the surface of a meteorite and have a characteristic shape that resembles a thumbprint. These imprints are formed during a meteorite's passage through the Earth's atmosphere, when the meteorite's surface is extremely heated by friction with atmospheric air and turbulent hot air flow. This process causes the meteorite's surface material to melt and form characteristic depressions and grooves. Regmaglypts can also provide important data on the trajectory and surface nature of the meteorite.