Several fragments were recovered and are now being studied in different labs. Unlike rock on Earth, the Tagish Lake meteorite will not have experienced substantial heating sometime in its history. Dr Russell is interested in tiny grains which should reveal new information about the material that came together to form the Sun and planets. I want to look for grains that I know are very old in this meteorite. Because it is very volatile-rich, the chances are that during its whole life time the meteorite has never been heated up very much and that means all this primordial stuff should be very well preserved.
Carbonaceous chondrites contain tiny jewels - presolar diamonds and sapphires.
These would have been made around the stars that were the ancestors of our Sun, Dr Russell said. These jewels can tell scientists about the processes that occur inside stars. A very rare meteorite that fell to Earth in Canada could reveal new clues about the origins of the Solar System and even life on Earth. Known as the Tagish Lake meteorite, the rock landed on ice in a remote area between Atlin, British Columbia, and Carcross, Yukon Territory, in January. An analysis of 45 chemical elements in the meteorite, carried out by experts at Purdue University, Indiana, US, suggests the rock contains material that has not been altered since it came together just as the Solar System was forming.