Scientists have linked the rain of gold in western Australia with the fall of a meteorite

A meteorite impact on Earth in the distant past could have caused a "golden shower" on the territory of modern Western Australia. Researchers have discovered a previously unknown meteorite crater with a diameter of 4 km in the Eastern Goldfields region. This was reported by Astronomy magazine.

The space object fell near the town of Ora Banda (Spanish for "golden band"), which is a historic gold mining settlement. The discovery was made by chance during exploration drilling. The analysis of the cores showed the presence of diagnostic signs of a collision: cones of concussion formed by the passage of a shock wave, and grains of "shock" quartz.

In the composition of impact breccias, rocks formed during the instantaneous destruction of formations, experts found not only molten glass and microscopic remains of a meteorite, but also small nuggets of gold. This indicates that during the impact, the precious metal was released into the atmosphere along with rock fragments and later fell back to the surface.

The researchers claim that during the collision, when fragments of shock rocks and glass were thrown into the sky, gold particles also fell back to the surface as part of the forming breccia deposits.

Currently, 34 meteorite craters have been officially confirmed in Australia. Their age ranges from several thousand to 2.2 billion years. Researchers are currently working with the Goldfields Aboriginal Language Center to give Ora Banda Crater an official name in one of the indigenous languages.

In the body itself: scientists have discovered "traces of life" in a meteorite from the last century

Will the researchers' discovery answer the question of whether we are alone in the universe?

On June 24, Science X magazine reported the discovery of a new type of rock in a meteorite from Mars. According to the researchers, the fragment contains a type of garnet mineral known as andradite. According to the publication, the mineral is often found on Earth in metamorphic rocks that are formed under the influence of extreme temperatures and pressures.