Usually, when meteorites from outer space hit earth, they are grey or black in color. But there is this one meteorite that is studded with crystals exists.
The meteorite was discovered in 2000 in the Gobi Desert in Xinjiang Province of China. When it crashed into the Earth's surface, there was a little sign of the beauty inside.
In February 2005, the meteorite was transported in Arizona's Meteorite Laboratory. It was considered as the world's biggest pallasite, a stony-iron meteorite that is measured 36 by 19 inches.
But upon cutting the Fukang meteorite, it yielded a breathtaking sight. Translucent golden crystals of a mineral called olivine shine through the meteorite that initially weighed the same as a hatchback car!
Since it has been divided into slices, the pieces of the meteorite created a "stained glass" effect when the sun shines through it.
In 2008, an unidentified collector owns the largest piece of a Fukang meteorite that weighed 925lb. The collector decided to auction it in New York for $2 million (Php101 million plus) but unfortunately, it remained unsold.
According to Arizona's Southwest Meteorite Laboratory, which holds about 70lb of the rock, said that the remarkable outer space debris will turn out to be "one of the greatest meteorites discoveries of the 21st century."
The Fukang meteorite outshines all other known types of meteorites in the pallasite class as they only make up one percent of meteorites in the world.
Fukang meteorites are believed to originated from the deep inside intact meteors created during the formation of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago. Only a few specimens are thought to have survived upon crashing into the Earth's atmosphere.
According to Arizona laboratory experts, the make-up of half nickel-iron, half-olivine gives the meteorite their mosaic-like appearance and are thought to be relics of forming planets.
Source: dailymail
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