Micro photos of meteorites reveal a lot of information

Scientists have just released a series of micro photos of meteorite fragments that fell on the territory of Chelyabinsk province (Russia) in February 2013. The photo set provides lots of valuable information for scientists.

Scientists at the Ural Federal University have analyzed dozens of meteorite fragments falling into Russia scattered across the territory, thereby assessing its chemical composition.

Picture 1 of Micro photos of meteorites reveal a lot of information
X-ray maps show the exact distribution of the single chemical element in it - (Photo: BBC News)

However, with the micro-imaging method, scientists will better understand the formation and know more about the journey it 'traveled' in the universe before landing on Earth.

These fragments are a small part of a meteorite with a diameter of 17 meters, falling into the city of Chelyabinsk.

Viktor Grokhovsky - head of the research team at Ural Federal University - said the key chemical composition of the meteorite is similar to that of a mangrove and contains minerals only in space, such as olivine, pyroxene, troilite and kamacite. .

The team used electron microscopy, firing electron beams into small parts of the specimen to consider their deviation during the collision. During the implementation process will produce a small amount of X-ray radiation corresponding to the chemical elements in the electron beam.

The scientists then used a silicon detector to collect X-rays, determine its energy and map a X-ray map of the sample, indicating the composition, the number of elements in it. At the same time, the process and temperature of meteorites and what happened during its collision with Earth can be considered.