Latest news with #PhilippHeck
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Space rock from asteroid Bennu arrives at Chicago Field Museum for rare study
The Brief The Field Museum received a rare, pristine sample of asteroid Bennu from NASA — a "time capsule" from the early solar system, untouched for 4.6 billion years. Scientists will study the carbon- and nitrogen-rich rock for clues about the origins of life on Earth. Bennu is considered a potentially hazardous asteroid, with a small chance of striking Earth in 2182, but researchers say it's too fragile to cause global destruction. CHICAGO - A new arrival has landed at Chicago's Field Museum — and it came from 40 million miles away. What we know The Field is one of the few research institutions in the country to receive a piece of an asteroid recently returned to Earth by NASA. "Oh, this is super exciting," said Field Museum Curator of Meteoritics Philipp Heck, as he peered at a vial containing a tiny black pebble. Museum scientists said receiving the sample is like winning the space lottery. Just days ago, they took delivery of the tiny chunk of asteroid Bennu. "It's a time capsule from the early solar system," said Heck. "That means it hasn't changed since it formed 4.6 billion years ago." In 2020, a NASA spacecraft intercepted the ancient asteroid — about a third of a mile in diameter — and punched out tiny shards of rock. That material was later returned to Earth in a sealed capsule, which preserved its scientific value. Unlike meteorites that burn through Earth's atmosphere and are contaminated with microbes, this asteroid sample is pristine. "The asteroid sample contains organic chemicals. And also it's rich in carbon and nitrogen," said Field Museum Resident Graduate Student Yuke Zheng. "So these elements and compounds, they are very essential to the beginning of life." Over the next few weeks, researchers will use advanced equipment to identify those building blocks, which may have been ingredients in the origin of life on Earth. "Bennu is essentially a piece of the pantry that contains the ingredients that went into the soup from which later the planet and life formed," explained Heck. There's another reason scientists are keeping a close watch on Bennu. It's classified as a potentially hazardous object, with a 1-in-1,750 chance of striking Earth on Sept. 24, 2182. The good news, according to Heck, is that the rock isn't very strong. "This is very fragile. It's mechanically weak rock. So I think even if that rock would collide with Earth, it wouldn't be a global killer." What's next The Field Museum will return its piece of the asteroid to NASA in August. Because of its tiny size and rarity, the sliver will not be displayed to the public.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Science
- CBS News
Tiny fragment of asteroid giving Field Museum scientists a glimpse 4.6 billion years into the past
The Field Museum is the new temporary home to a tiny piece of pristine asteroid. The fragment of the asteroid Bennu, on loan from NASA, won't be on display for visitors, but will give scientists the chance to study an asteroid sample uncontaminated by Earth's atmosphere. A tiny, black fragment might not seem exciting, until a scientist explains it's a specimen from space. "It's an honor of a lifetime to be able to study this sample," said Field Museum curator Dr. Philipp Heck. How did Heck feel when the little rock first arrived at the museum and he held the vial containing the sample? "It was amazing. I was looking forward to that moment for a long time," he said. NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission was planned decades ago. In 2016, a spacecraft launched. In 2018, it arrived at Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid as wide as the Sears Tower is tall. The mission collected pieces of the asteroid and brought them back to Earth in 2023. "This is the first U.S. mission that sends a spacecraft to the asteroid and brings a sample back to Earth," said University of Chicago graduate student Yuke Zheng, who is part of the OSIRIS-REx sample analysis team. "It's a tiny, dark, black fragment that is fragile, so we want to protect it very carefully." She'll use the museum's scanning electron microscope to get an up-close look at a tiny sample of Bennu. "What struck me is how dark the sample is. I had never seen such a dark sample," Heck said. The fragment is like a time capsule, taking scientists back 4.6 billion years. "We believe Bennu contains part of the ingredients for life, and part of the ingredients of the formation of Earth," Heck said. Suddenly, a fragment at the bottom of a vial can have you pondering your place in the universe. "I've never studied a pristine sample from an asteroid," Heck said.
