Ancient grains of dust which were older than the solar system itself were found in samples from asteroid Ryugu which were brought to Earth by the Japanese Hayabusa2 spacecraft nearly two years ago.

HIGHLIGHTS
Japanese Hayabusa2 spacecraft has brought the samples from Ryugu to the Earth
The ancient particles in samples from Ryugu were made from silicon carbide
The compounds cannot stand up to temperatures higher than 30 degrees Celsius

Well, the presence of this pre-solar material in Ryugu was not at all a surprise, similarly ancient grains were found in many carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, which were basically carbon-rich pieces of space rocks that would survive the fall through Earth's atmosphere in order to land on the planet.

The ancient particles in samples from Ryugu were eventually made from silicon carbide, it was considered to be a chemical compound that does not naturally occur on Earth. As per the researchers who were behind the new study, there were different forms of silicon carbide grains that differ by what scientists would call their isotopic signatures, or the number of neutrons within the core of the core of the silicon and carbon atoms that compose the compound.

In the Ryugu samples, researchers had detected the best-known types of silicon carbide but even a particularly rare style of silicate that would be simply destroyed by chemical processes that would take place in asteroids. As per the researchers, the material was found 'in a less-chemically-altered fragment that possibly protected it from such activity.'

The study was published within the journal on August 15.

The Japanese Hayabusa2 mission had touched down on Ryugu, a near-Earth asteroid that would complete one orbit around the sun in every 16 months, in July 2019. The probe was brought to Earth about one-fifth of an ounce (5 grams) of space dust that was analyzed in labs everywhere in the world since its delivery to Earth in December 2020.

In fact, the separate research would analyze material from Ryugu. The scientists behind that research had utilized a distinct form of isotopic analysis, along with a technique known as scanning transmission X-ray microscopy, among different studies.

That particular research had found compounds that cannot stand up to temperatures higher than 30 degrees Celsius, that would get combined with different findings it would suggest that Ryugu which was formed in the solar system and migrated in, as per the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, that manages the Hayabusa2 mission.

According to Larry Nittler, the planetary scientist at Arizona State University, “The chance to spot and study these grains in the lab would help us to understand the astrophysical phenomena which had shaped our solar system, along with other cosmic objects.”

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