Scientists unearth rare meteorite fragments in remote Western Australia
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A team of scientists has uncovered two rare meteorite fragments on remote salt flats in outback Western Australia, days after a fireball lit up the skies above Perth and surrounding regions on Mother's Day.
Researchers from Curtin University, part of the Desert Fireball Network, traced the meteorite's dramatic descent to Lake Hope, a barren expanse roughly seven hours east of Perth, using hi-tech weather modelling and an extensive network of sky-monitoring cameras.
Planetary scientist Hadrien Devillepoix told 9News the team used the advanced weather modelling to predict how the meteorite would drift in the wind once it had slowed down enough.
Experts have scoured hundreds of kilometres of salt flats deep in the West Australian outback to find pieces of meteorite that lit up the night sky over Perth and other parts of the state. Picture: 9News
A fragment of the four-billion-year-old meteorite. Picture: 9 News
They then drove for hours through rugged terrain and dense bush before trekking on foot more than seven kilometres across the lake's salt flats.
As the team trekked across the salt flats, 9News footage captured the moment team member Mia Walker raised her arms in triumph and shouted, 'We found a meteorite!'
'I started running and it was so special, I saw this hole in the lake and it only took, you know, just a little tug to pull it out,' Ms Walker said.
'It's very special, it's very exciting to get to find one of these.'
Team member Mia Walker was overjoyed by the discovery, describing it as 'very special'. Picture: 9News
Shortly after their initial discovery, the team struck gold again, uncovering a second fragment not far from the first.
Among the finds was a significant chunk of space rock, one of the largest the team has recovered to date.
'Here's a piece of space rock that's been travelling the solar system for four and a half billion years,' Dr Devillepoix said.
'And now it's in our hands and we can use it for science, that's so exciting.'
Planetary scientist Hadrien Devillepoix told 9News the team used advanced weather modelling to find the meteorite. Picture: 9News
He said rain was forecast and the salt flats could be submerged 'in a matter of days.'
'That could have been lost forever,' he said.
The meteorite fragments will now undergo detailed analysis in a laboratory to determine their composition and pinpoint their origin in the solar system.
Originally published as 'We found a meteorite!': Joy as rare space rocks discovered in WA outback
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