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Health & Science3h 15m ago
Scientists have proposed that Northwest Africa 12774, a meteorite recovered from the Sahara Desert, may be debris from a destroyed protoplanet, according to Sci.News.
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Sahara Desert, Mauritania
Who
Dr. Aaron Bell, University of Colorado Boulder
What
Scientists have proposed that Northwest Africa 12774, a meteorite recovered from the Sahara Desert, may be debris from a destroyed protoplanet, according to Sci.News.
When
Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:22:00 GMT · 3h 15m ago
Where
Sahara Desert, Mauritania ·
Why
Analysis of the meteorite indicates its source was not a small asteroid, but a much larger object due to the presence of aluminum-rich clinopyroxene and calculated pressures of at least 17.5 kilobars.
The Frontline Impact
How this affects you
If confirmed, this discovery would provide significant evidence of large, young worlds forming early in the Solar System that subsequently vanished, suggesting early planetary bodies formed from materials different from those that built Earth and Mars.
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3 events in this thread- Health & Science3h 15m agoScientists have proposed that Northwest Africa 12774, a meteorite recovered from the Sahara Desert, may be debris from a destroyed protoplanet.Open article
- Currently Reading3h 15m agoScientists have proposed that Northwest Africa 12774, a meteorite recovered from the Sahara Desert, may be debris from a destroyed protoplanet, according to Sci.News.
- Health & Science4h 30m agoA meteorite found in the Sahara, Northwest Africa 12774, provides direct evidence that a lost early protoplanet was far larger than previously believed.Open article