A team of Danish scientists from the University of Copenhagen studied ancient rocks within the NWA 14250 meteorite, which was found in Morocco in 2018. Experts say the minerals present belong to the early build-out of the solar system, part of the proto-planetary disk from which Earth and the other planets later formed. The research appeared in the scientific journal Science Advances (SciAdv).
The solar system began as a disk-shaped cloud of dust and gas roughly 4.5 billion years ago. Over time, the original material altered under the combined influence of solar radiation, plasma, and interactions with other atoms, gradually giving rise to the materials that would become planets, moons, and smaller bodies.
Using scanning electron microscopy and spectroscopic analysis, researchers carried out a detailed examination of the contents of NWA 14250 and the isotope compositions of the minerals found in its debris. This approach allowed them to identify signatures that reflect distinct formation environments and thermal histories within the early solar system.
From their analyses, the team concluded that some of the debris minerals likely originated in a cometary setting. If correct, this implies that meteorites such as NWA 14250 carry information about pristine materials that circulated in the early solar system, offering a valuable window into its original chemical inventory and dynamical processes.
Experts note that a substantial reservoir of primitive material remains in the solar system. Much of it is thought to reside in the distant Oort Cloud, a vast shell that extends far beyond the outer planets. Because this material is so far away, it reaches Earth chiefly in the form of meteorites, which burn away some of their volatile components as they pass through the atmosphere, while preserving a record of their parent bodies and formation environments.
Earlier reports from the region around Kurgan hinted at the discovery of sizable meteorite fragments, underscoring the ongoing interest in linking meteorite finds to their terrestrial and cosmic contexts. These discoveries collectively contribute to a broader understanding of how early solar materials migrated and transformed over billions of years, shaping the small bodies that sometimes intersect Earth’s orbit today.