Most of Earth's meteorites may have come from the same 3 spots
Earth is constantly getting pummeled by meteorites. We are unaware of most of them, as they burn up in our atmosphere before they hit the ground. Every now and again, though, something larger gets drawn into Earth's gravitational field — and when this happens, it usually spells bad news for any life living on our planet's surface.
Scientists know that the vast majority of meteorites that come crashing down to Earth originate from the solar system's main asteroid belt: a region between Mars and Jupiter where irregularly shaped rocks left over from the formation of the solar system crash into and bounce off each other during their journeys around the sun.
In new research, however, an international team of scientists are claiming to have identified three young, distinct asteroid families in the main asteroid belt as the source of 70% of Earth's meteorites. "Asteroid families" refer to a population of asteroids, which could be composed of a handful or hundreds of fragments that likely originate from a past asteroid collision.
Using a telescopic survey to determine the composition of the main families of asteroids in the main asteroid belt and tapping into computer simulations to map the colossians and evolution of these families, researchers were able to reveal which three families the vast majority of Earth's meteorites likely come from.
