Meteorite Men

 

6: ALH 84001

 

It's such a catchy-sounding name, right? Well, the actual meteorite is far more impressive than its generic-sounding name.

ALH 84001 (let's call it "Al" for short) was discovered in Antarctica in 1984, some 13,000 years after it arrived from Mars.

Yes, Mars.

Al was born from the lava of a Martian volcano about four and a half billion years ago. It then sat on the Martian surface until about 15 million years ago, when another asteroid or meteorite knocked it free, sending it hurtling towards earth, where it landed in the Allan Hills of Antarctica.

Buried inside Al was evidence of possible early Martian life, in the form of fossilized remains of what may have once been some very, very small bacteria. It turns out Al was kind of an interesting guy, for a rock.




Top 10 Meteorites    10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1    Next »

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