TWO minerals that have never before been observed on Earth have been uncovered inside a meteorite.
Dubbed El Alie, the 3,000lb space rock was found in Somalia in 2020 and is the ninth-largest meteorite ever discovered.
Scientists unearthed the two new minerals inside a single 2.5-ounce sheet of rock taken from the meteorite.
The two minerals have been named elaliite after the meteor, and elkinstantonite after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the managing director of the Arizona State University Interplanetary Initiative.
Researchers identified El Ali as an Iron IAB complex meteorite – or a type of space rock made of meteoric iron with specks of silicates.
And it was while looking at the meteorite sample that the scientists noticed the odd-looking minerals.
