In 1969, a chunk of space rock blasted through the skies above Victoria, Australia, before making in a small, smoking crater near the town of Murchison. Keen-eyed locals grabbed as many bits of the Murchison Meteorite as they could, and it has been an object of great scientific interest ever since. Even now, 50 years later, we're still finding surprises inside — like a couple of dozen tiny grains of dust, more ancient than the entire solar system! A suggested topic from a listener (hi, mum!).
Want to help us make Syzygy even better?
Tell your friends and give us a review,
or show your support on Patreon:
patreon.com/syzygypod
Huge thanks to our patrons, listed over on the
Cosmic Great Wall of Gratitude
Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod
Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.
On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod
Things we talked about in this episode:
Gravitational Waves near Betelgeuse
Original paper on the pre-solar grains in the Murchison Meteorite
Video of Russian dash cam meteor
The Tunguska Event of 1908
The Gaia mission