Curiously molded microcrystals framed of unadulterated, graphite-like carbon were found in the residue of the 21st-century’s biggest shooting star. They are probably going to have filled in layers with complex carbon cores like fullerene.
The biggest shooting star observed up to this point this century entered the Earth’s atmosphere above Chelyabinsk in the Southern Urals, Russia on February 15, 2013. Strangely, dust from the outer layer of this shooting star endures its fall and is widely examined. This residue incorporates some curiously molded microcrystals of carbon. An investigation of the morphology and recreations of the development of these gems by a consortium led by Sergey Taskaev and Vladimir Khovaylo from Chelyabinsk State University, Russia is presently distributed in the journal The European Physical Journal Plus.
Shooting star dust is framed on the outer layer of a meteor when it is presented with high temperatures and serious tensions on entering the air. The Chelyabinsk meteor was novel in its size, the power of the air burst in which it detonated, the size of the biggest parts that tumbled to earth, and the harm that it caused. More importantly, it landed on cold ground, and the snow aided in the preservation of its residue.
Taskaev, Khovaylo, and their group previously noticed micrometer-sized carbon microcrystals in this residue under a light magnifying lens. They hence inspected similar gems utilizing scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and found that they took on various strange shapes: shut, semi-round shells, and hexagonal bars. Further examination utilizing Raman spectroscopy and X-beam crystallography showed that the carbon gems were really colorfully molded types of graphite.
Probably, these designs will have been framed by adding graphene layers to carbon cores over and over. The scientists investigated this cycle through sub-atomic element recreations of the development of various such designs. They saw two “logical suspects” as cores for microcrystal development: the round fullerene (or buckminsterfullerene), C60, and the more intricate hexacyclooctadecane (C18H12). All in all, Taskaev and Khovaylo propose that grouping these gems could assist with recognizing past shooting stars.
More information: Sergey Taskaev et al, Exotic carbon microcrystals in meteoritic dust of the Chelyabinsk superbolide: experimental investigations and theoretical scenarios of their formation, The European Physical Journal Plus (2022). DOI: 10.1140/epjp/s13360-022-02768-7
