Scientists have found a meteorite that turned out to be the remains of an ancient planet

The asteroid, which fell in Sudan in 2008, is characterized by an increased content of nanodiamonds. They could only appear growing under pressure in the core of the protoplanet.

The initial mass of the asteroid was about 100 tons, but most of it was burned while passing through the atmosphere. The researchers found several hundred fragments, weighing about five kilograms.

The initial analysis showed that the asteroid is a ureylyte. This is a fairly rare species of celestial objects, which are distinguished by an elevated carbon content. New, more detailed analyzes of the composition showed that diamond nanocrystals up to 100 microns in size are present in the asteroid.

It was this discovery that opened the asteroid in a new light - after all, such crystals could appear only in one known way: growing for a long time in the core of the protoplanet. Later, this hypothesis of the origin of the asteroid was confirmed by other nanocrystals of similar size.

According to scientists , the planet from which the asteroid broke away was about the size of Mars. The existence of such planets in the early stages of the solar system was predicted for a long time - but only now scientists have found a material confirmation of their hypotheses.