Cosmochemist Says He Has Solution To 136-Year-Old Chondrules Mystery
Monday, July 8, 2013 - 17:20
in Astronomy & Space
How did numerous small, glassy spherules become embedded within specimens of the largest class of meteorites, the chondrites? British mineralogist Henry Sorby first described these spherules, called chondrules, in 1877. Sorby suggested that they might be "droplets of fiery rain" which somehow condensed out of the cloud of gas and dust that formed the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Researchers have continued to regard chondrules as liquid droplets that had been floating in space before becoming quickly cooled, but how did the liquid form? "There's a lot of data that have been puzzling to people," said Lawrence Grossman, professor in geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago. read more