SYDNEY, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A research project led by Australia's Curtin University has recently found a rare dust particle trapped in an ancient extra-terrestrial meteorite that was formed by a star other than the sun.
The discovery was made by lead author Nicole Nevill and colleagues during her Ph.D. studies at the university, now working at the Lunar and Planetary Science Institute in the United States.
Meteorites are space rocks falling to Earth's surface, mostly providing samples of other planets, asteroids, and possibly comets in the solar system, but some of them may even contain tiny particles that stem from other stars born long before the sun.
According to the study published in the Astrophysical Journal, Nevill used atom probe tomography to analyze a carbonaceous chondrite collected from the Allan Hills of Antarctica and reconstruct the chemistry on an atomic scale, unlocking the hidden information within it.
In a statement released on Thursday, Nevill noted that the particle found by the team has a ratio of magnesium isotopes "distinct from anything in our solar system."
"The most extreme magnesium isotopic ratio from previous studies of presolar grains was about 1,200. The grain in our study has a value of 3,025, which is the highest ever discovered," said the scholar.
"This exceptionally high isotopic ratio can only be explained by formation in a recently discovered type of star - a hydrogen-burning supernova," she added.
Meanwhile, Co-author and Curtin University Senior Research Fellow David Saxey pointed out that their study is breaking new ground in people's understanding of the universe, pushing the boundaries of both analytical techniques and astrophysical models.
"The atom probe has given us a whole level of detail that we haven't been able to access in previous studies," said Saxey. ■
