Picture of the fireball in February 28, 2021. Credit: UK Meteor Observation Network
Scientists are set to uncover the secrets of a rare meteorite and perhaps the origins of oceans and life on Earth, thanks to Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) financing.
Research performed on the meteorite, which fell in the UK previously this year, recommends that the area rock dates back to the beginning of the Solar System, 4.5 billion years ago.
The meteorite has now been officially categorized, thanks in part to the STFC-funded studies on the sample.

The Winchcombe meteorite, aptly named after the Gloucestershire town where it landed, is a very uncommon type called a carbonaceous chondrite. It is a stony meteorite, abundant in water and raw material, which has kept its chemistry from the development of the solar system. Initial analyses showing Winchcombe to be a member of the CM (” Mighei-like”) group of carbonaceous chondrites have actually now been officially authorized by the Meteoritical Society.
STFC provided an urgency grant in order to help money the work of planetary researchers throughout the UK. The funding has actually enabled the Natural History Museum to buy state-of-the-art curation facilities to protect the meteorite, and also supported time-sensitive mineralogical and natural analyses in expert labs at numerous leading UK institutions.
A picture of one of the fragments of the Winchcombe meteorite. Credit: Trustee of the Natural History Museum
Dr. Ashley King, a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellow in the Department of Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum, stated: “We are grateful for the financing STFC has actually supplied. Winchcombe is the very first meteorite fall to be recuperated in the UK for 30 years and the first-ever carbonaceous chondrite to be recuperated in our country. STFCs funding is assisting us with this distinct opportunity to discover the origins of water and life on Earth. Through the financing, we have actually had the ability to invest in state-of-the-art devices that has actually contributed to our analysis and research into the Winchcombe meteorite.”
The meteorite was tracked using images and video footage from the UK Fireball Alliance (UKFAll), a cooperation in between the UKs meteor video camera networks that includes the UK Fireball Network, which is funded by STFC. Pieces were then rapidly situated and recovered. Considering that the discovery, UK scientists have actually been studying Winchcombe to comprehend its mineralogy and chemistry to discover about how the Solar System formed.
Dr. Luke Daly from the University of Glasgow and co-lead of the UK Fireball Network, said: “Being able to examine Winchcombe is a dream come real. For a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite to fall in the UK, and for it to be recuperated so rapidly and have a known orbit, is a truly unique event and a fantastic opportunity for the UK planetary science community.”
Financing from STFC allowed scientists to quickly start the look for signs of water and organics in Winchcombe before it could be infected by the terrestrial environment.
Dr. Queenie Chan from Royal Holloway, University of London included: “The groups preliminary analyses confirm that Winchcombe consists of a vast array of organic material! Studying the meteorite just weeks after the fall, prior to any considerable terrestrial contamination, suggests that we truly are peering back in time at the components present at the birth of the planetary system, and finding out about how they came together to make worlds like the Earth.”
A piece of the Winchcombe meteorite that was recovered during an organized search by the UK planetary science neighborhood is now on show and tell at Londons Natural History Museum..

Winchcombe is the first meteorite fall to be recovered in the UK for 30 years and the first-ever carbonaceous chondrite to be recovered in our country. The meteorite was tracked using images and video footage from the UK Fireball Alliance (UKFAll), a collaboration between the UKs meteor electronic camera networks that includes the UK Fireball Network, which is funded by STFC. Given that the discovery, UK researchers have actually been studying Winchcombe to understand its mineralogy and chemistry to find out about how the Solar System formed.
Dr. Luke Daly from the University of Glasgow and co-lead of the UK Fireball Network, said: “Being able to examine Winchcombe is a dream come real. For a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite to fall in the UK, and for it to be recovered so quickly and have a known orbit, is a truly unique occasion and a great chance for the UK planetary science neighborhood.”