Diamonds in a meteorite that exploded over Sudan in 2008 provide compelling evidence of a ‘lost planet’ that once existed at least four billion years ago in our solar system, scientists say.
This content was published on
2 minutes
EPFL/sb
Researchers from Switzerland, France and Germany examined a slice of a so-called Almahata Sitta meteorite which exploded over Sudan’s Nubian Desert in 2008. The Almahata Sitta meteorites are mostly ureilites, a rare type of stony meteorite that often contains clusters of nano-sized diamonds.
The diamonds in the meteorite had chromite, phosphate, and iron-nickel sulfides embedded in them, known as “inclusions”, the Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) said in a statement on TuesdayExternal link. These have been known for a long time to exist inside diamonds found on Earth, but this is the first time that they have been encountered in an extra-terrestrial body.
It is thought that these tiny diamonds can form in three ways: enormous pressure shockwaves from high-energy collisions between the meteorite “parent body” and other space objects; deposition by chemical vapor; or the “normal” static pressure inside the parent body, like most diamonds on Earth.
The research teams calculated a pressure of 200,000 bar (2.9 million psi) would be needed to form the diamonds they studied, suggesting the mystery planet was as least as big as Mercury, possibly even Mars. Their research has been published in Nature CommunicationsExternal link.
It is thought that the early solar system once contained many more planets.
“Many planetary embryos were Mars-sized bodies, such as the one that collided with Earth to give rise to the Moon. Other of these went on to form larger planets, or collided with the Sun or were ejected from the solar system altogether,” the EPFL said. “This study provides convincing evidence that the ureilite parent body was one such large ‘lost’ planet before it was destroyed by collisions some 4.5 billion years ago.”
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss play key role in new exoplanet mission
This content was published on
Scientists from the universities of Geneva and Bern are heavily involved in the largest European exoplanet research mission.
Promising discovery in search for extra-terrestrial life
This content was published on
A team of international astronomers, including those in Switzerland, have discovered a rocky exoplanet in a habitable zone of a faint red dwarf star.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.