Dec 30, 2010 14:04 GMT  ·  By
Antarctic ices may apparently conceal the key to understanding how the solar system was born
   Antarctic ices may apparently conceal the key to understanding how the solar system was born

A group of French scientists was recently able to identify a new class of particles in the central parts of Antarctica, that analysis show did not originate on our planet. Most likely, the team says, the alien particles came here from outer space, most likely aboard comets.

The particles were found by French researchers at the Center for Nuclear Spectrometry and Mass Spectrometry (CSNSM), in Orsay. The Center belongs to the IN2P3 Institute.

It would appear that the micrometeorites uncovered from south pole ices originate in the coldest and most distant regions of the solar system. The remains are exceptionally well-preserved, and are made out of organic matter.

Inside, scientists could make up small mineral assemblages, which promise to make for a very interesting investigation. The two fragments discovered thus far measure .003 inches and .01 inches across, respectively.

They were extracted from ice the formed near the French-Italian Antarctic camp, in the period spanning between 1955 and 1970. This time window was selected because ice that formed within it did so without any human influence.

The meteorite were found to be “exhibiting a fine-grained, fluffy texture with no evidence for substantial heating during atmospheric entry,” the team says about its discoveries.

Chemical analysis of the two micrometeorites revealed that the largest of the two is made up of 85 percent carbon, whereas the other contains 48 percent carbon. This chemical element, the most important for organic chemistry, is needed for life to develop.

Both space rock contain 30 times more deuterium than normal. This chemical is a rare, isotopic form of hydrogen. On Earth, we use deuterium in combination with another isotope, tritium, in our attempts to replicate the nuclear fusion going on on the surface of the Sun.

Using microscopes, the French team also looked at the small crystals inside the micrometeorites, and found that they were “condensed or processed at close distances from the young Sun.” This means that they could be older than our own planet.

Despite the remoteness of the area, experts will undoubtedly try to return to the Antarctic base, in a bid to find even more artifacts such as the two objects.

Further studies on such objects could deepen our understanding of the earliest days of the solar systems, as well as of how planets came to be, Daily Galaxy reports.