Murchison Meteorite

On September 28, 1969, at 10:58 a.m., a fireball blazed a path across the morning skies over western Australia. It split into three parts before completely disappearing in a puff of smoke. About 30 seconds later, a tremor rocked the town of Murchison.

But the story didn't start here. It began 4.6 billion years ago when our solar system developed. Particles and gases combined to form our sun, the planets, and the asteroid belt. Then about 1.8 million years ago, two asteroids collided and broke apart. The impact sent a chunk—the Murchison Meteorite—hurtling towards Earth.

After impact, pieces of the Murchison Meteorite were found scattered across 8 square miles (13 sq. km). About 40% of these came to The Field Museum and now reside in the Robert A. Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies. Scientists studying these pieces discovered that they contain minerals older than the sun.