Meteorite that exploded over Germany 4.5 billion years old

Fragments of a meteorite that blazed across the skies near Berlin in January are about 4.5 billion years old, scientists wrote in an article published in the Meteoritics & Planetary Science journal.

Named after the site of its discovery, researchers led by the Institute of Planetology at the University of Münster also found the Ribbeck meteorite belongs to the scarce class of aubrites.

They are so rare that only 11 other aubrite falls have been recorded, while 76 finds are listed in the meteorite database.

Ancient calling card from space

Scientists have examined the Ribbeck meteorite fragments closely, and they estimate that Ribbeck's parent body is approximately 4.5 billion years old.

It likely originated from the asteroid belt situated between Mars and Jupiter.

Curiously, the meteorite fragments emitted an intense smell of hydrogen sulfide, reminiscent of rotten eggs.

This odor results from chemical reactions between the mineral phases and moisture — likely caused by snow and thaw — altering the rock's mineralogy.

Meteorite treasure hunt 

Ribbeck, initially named asteroid 2024 BX1, burned up on January 21 this year over Germany.

The first piece of the meteorite was only found days later.

"When searching for meteorites, you usually look for black rocks. However, due to their mineralogy and composition, the Ribbeck fragments did not have a consistently dark fusion crust," Addi Bischoff, one of the authors of the paper, explained. 

"This is probably why numerous fragments were missed in the first days of the search, until this peculiarity was recognized," he said. 

Scientists and collectors gathered 202 fragments weighing 1.8 kilograms in total.

lo/msh (dpa, epd)