Spacecraft Hayabusa2 approaching asteroid Ryugu. Issue date: Thursday October 20, 2022. PA
Spacecraft Hayabusa2 approaching asteroid Ryugu. Issue date: Thursday October 20, 2022. PA
Spacecraft Hayabusa2 approaching asteroid Ryugu. Issue date: Thursday October 20, 2022. PA
Spacecraft Hayabusa2 approaching asteroid Ryugu. Issue date: Thursday October 20, 2022. PA

World

UK

UK scientists discover source of one of the rarest meteorites to fall on Earth

Ivuna meteorite may have originated from the edge of the solar system, scientists say

Soraya Ebrahimi
Soraya Ebrahimi

October 20, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

UK scientists say they have identified the origin of one of the rarest meteorites to ever fall on Earth.

The Ivuna meteorite landed in Tanzania in December 1938 and was split into samples, one of which is housed at the Natural History Museum in London.

Experts believe the Ivuna rock may have originated from the edge of the solar system after an analysis of an asteroid known as Ryugu.

The museum team said its findings, published in the journal Science Advances, could unlock more answers about the early history of the solar system and shed more light on how life came to exist on Earth.

“It is a really exciting discovery for me because it shows that meteorites in our museum and in collections around the world might actually sample most of the solid solar system, from the innermost rocky part to its furthest outer reaches," Prof Sara Russell, a senior researcher at the museum and co-author of the paper, told PA.

“We can use them to learn more about our origins and about all our companion planets.”

The Ivuna falls into a category of extremely rare meteorites known as CI chondrites.

Largest image by James Webb space telescopes shows glittering galaxies - in pictures

An enormous colour mosaic made up of images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope has been released. This image shows only a small part of the mosiac. All photos: Nasa
An enormous colour mosaic made up of images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope has been released. This image shows only a small part of the mosiac. All photos: Nasa
The mosaic is made up 690 individual frames taken with the telescope’s near infrared camera – an instrument that captures radiant energy from objects invisible to the human eye.
The mosaic is made up 690 individual frames taken with the telescope’s near infrared camera – an instrument that captures radiant energy from objects invisible to the human eye.
Collectively known as Epoch 1, the image is the largest one yet made using data from the world’s largest space observatory.
Collectively known as Epoch 1, the image is the largest one yet made using data from the world’s largest space observatory.
Jupiter as seen by the James Webb telescope.
Jupiter as seen by the James Webb telescope.
The James Webb telescope captures Jupiter.
The James Webb telescope captures Jupiter.

These are stony, carbon-containing meteorites that retain the original primitive chemistry from the formation of the solar system more than four billion years ago.

They have been known to contain water – one of the key ingredients to life.

Prof Russell said that apart from Ivuna, only four known CI-type meteorites exist on Earth: Orgueil and Alais, which both fell in France; Tonk which fell in India; and the tiny Revelstoke meteorite that hit Canada.

“It’s only within the last decade we’ve begun to appreciate just how far objects in the solar system can move towards and away from the sun,” she said.

James Webb telescope captures Jupiter - in pictures

The James Webb telescope captured stunning images of Jupiter. Photo: NASA
The James Webb telescope captured stunning images of Jupiter. Photo: NASA
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Photo: NASA
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Photo: NASA
Experts were impressed by the quality of the images gathered by the state-of-the-art telescope. Photo: NASA
Experts were impressed by the quality of the images gathered by the state-of-the-art telescope. Photo: NASA
The view shows Jupiter including its Great red Spot captured by Nasa's Juno spacecraft on April 1, 2018. Photo: Nasa
The view shows Jupiter including its Great red Spot captured by Nasa's Juno spacecraft on April 1, 2018. Photo: Nasa
The temporary "crater" and debris left behind by the impact of a fragment of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet in 1994. Some of the impacts created fireballs the size of Earth. Photo: Nasa
The temporary "crater" and debris left behind by the impact of a fragment of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet in 1994. Some of the impacts created fireballs the size of Earth. Photo: Nasa

For the study, the team examined Ryugu samples, which were remotely brought back to Earth in 2020 by Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2.

It is thought that Ryugu, which is classed as a near-Earth object, was born in the outer solar system more than four billion years ago and broke away from a larger body, migrating towards Earth.

It is now located between the Earth and Mars and orbits the Sun.

Ryugu belongs to a class of asteroids called carbonaceous, or C-type, asteroids.

C-type asteroids are rich in water, carbon and organic compounds from when the solar system formed.

The researchers said Ryugu and the CI chondrites originate from the same region of space and cannot rule out the possibility that they could even share the same parent body.

“By comparing the forms of iron in both the asteroids and meteorites, we learnt that Ryugu is a remarkably close match to CI chondrites,” Prof Russell said.

Stats at a glance:

Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)

Number in service: 6

Complement 191 (space for up to 285)

Top speed: over 32 knots

Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles

Length 152.4 m

Displacement: 8,700 tonnes

Beam:   21.2 m

Draught: 7.4 m

Uefa Nations League: How it works

The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.

The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.

Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

Read
UAE players with central contracts

Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.

Film: Raid
Dir: Rajkumar Gupta
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'cruz and Saurabh Shukla

Verdict:  Three stars 

Abaya trends

The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.

Towering concerns
Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

  1. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate. 
  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.

Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 402bhp

Torque: 760Nm

Price: From Dh280,000

The bio

Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home

Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
What are NFTs?

Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.

You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”

However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.

This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”

This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

E-cigarettes report
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHakbah%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENaif%20AbuSaida%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E22%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-Series%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%20and%20Aditum%20Investment%20Management%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20team
%3Cp%3E%0DFashion%20director%3A%20Sarah%20Maisey%0D%3Cbr%3EPhotographer%3A%20Greg%20Adamski%0D%3Cbr%3EHair%20and%20make-up%3A%20Ania%20Poniatowska%0D%3Cbr%3EModels%3A%20Nyajouk%20and%20Kristine%20at%20MMG%2C%20and%20Mitchell%0D%3Cbr%3EStylist%E2%80%99s%20assistants%3A%20Nihala%20Naval%20and%20Sneha%20Maria%20Siby%0D%3Cbr%3EVideographer%3A%20Nilanjana%20Gupta%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
You might also like
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E640hp%20at%206%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E850Nm%20from%202%2C300-4%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E11.9L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh749%2C800%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
While you're here
Updated: October 20, 2022, 10:36 PM`
UKScienceSpace