Meteorite found in Antarctica changes understanding of the Solar System

An ancient meteorite found in Antarctica has been found to preserve traces of a powerful magnetic field that existed in the earliest stages of the Solar System. According to ixbt.com, this discovery suggests that magnetism may have played a more important role in the birth of the Sun and planets than previously thought. This is reported by news from

Ixbt.com. The subject is the DOM 08006 meteorite found in Antarctica in 2008. It is one of the oldest and least altered meteorites, with some of its material remaining in the same state as it was when the Solar System was formed.

The mystery of ancient particles

Researchers focused on calcium-aluminum inclusions that contained magnetic minerals such as iron. They were formed in the first 200,000 years of the Solar System and are considered some of the oldest solid materials in the system. Essentially, these microscopic particles recorded the conditions at the very moment the Sun was being born.

A team led by Purdue University scientist Cauê Borlina studied several such inclusions. Based on the remnants, it was determined that the material was subjected to a magnetic field approximately 12 times stronger than Earth's current magnetic field.

Magnetism and gravity

4.6 billion years ago, the Solar System consisted of a giant cloud of gas and dust, which gradually compressed under the influence of gravity. Over time, it turned into a flat protoplanetary disk. The Sun formed at its center, and the remaining material later gave rise to the planets.

Gravity has traditionally been considered the main factor in this process. However, new research shows that the magnetic field generated by the movement of charged particles in plasma may have also played a significant role.

Future scientific models

This magnetic field could have helped flatten the initial cloud and influenced the movement of material within the protoplanetary disk, directing it toward the forming Sun. Previously, a group of scientists had found traces of a magnetic field that existed about 2 million years after the Solar System began to form.

However, by that time, the Sun had already formed. The DOM 08006 meteorite allows for a deeper look into the first hundred thousand years of our planetary system's existence. The data obtained suggest that gravity alone may not be enough to explain the birth of the Sun and planets.