2024 was studded with record-setting scientific discoveries. From tracing the origins of glow-in-the-dark animals to developing the world’s fastest microscope, these superlative feats captured our imagination.
Ancient Airburst
Some 2.5 million years ago, an asteroid combusted in Earth’s atmosphere before it could hit the ground and leave a crater, making the event the oldest known midair explosion. That conclusion is based on a chemical analysis of nearly 120 microscopic rocks buried deep underneath Antarctic ice. The ancient pebbles are rich in olivine and spinel minerals, which suggests the specimens are the asteroid’s remnants, scientists say.
Chemical analysis of microscopic bits of rock collected in Antarctica (three shown) suggests they
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