Scientists have found traces of magnetic field in the ancient Semarkona meteorite that crashed into India in the 1940s. They believe that magnetic fields may have had a crucial role to play in the formation of the solar system.
The magnetic fields trapped in the grains of this ancient meteorite have been measured in the laboratory at Arizona State University and researchers say that the findings are unprecedented. Though scientists have believed for a long time that magnetic fields had a role in the birth of our solar system, the meteorite has now provided physical evidence to support that theory.
Around 4.6 billion years ago, soon after the sun had formed, the rotating disk of dust and gas around the newly formed sun merged and formed planets. Researchers also found that most of the protoplanetary disks of that time spiraled into the sun. Though it is not clear how they swirled into the sun, researchers claim that it was due to the magnetic fields and the study of Semarkona supports this theory.
Semarkona is made of chondrules, which are small round pellets. These pellets form as molten droplets and cool in space very quickly. Many of these chondrules are made up of iron containing minerals which could have recorded the strength or magnetic properties of some magnetic fields that were present when the solar system was forming.
Semarkona is among those few meteorites which have not altered in any way and has maintained its original magnetization. The measurement of magnetic field in the chondrules of this meteorite point out that shock waves that traveled through the cloud of dusty gas around the newborn sun were a major factor is the formation of the solar system.
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