First Evidence of Comet Striking Earth Found in Egypt

A team of scientists claims to have found the first-ever definitive evidence of a comet striking Earth.

After conducting a series of analyses, the researchers determined that a mysterious black pebble discovered years ago in the Egyptian desert is a piece of a comet nucleus — the first ever discovered.

“It’s a typical scientific euphoria when you eliminate all other options and come to the realization of what it must be,” study lead author Jan Kramers, of the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, said in a statement. [Best Close Encounters of the Comet Kind]

 

The pebble, which the team has named “Hypatia” in honor of the ancient female mathematician, astronomer and philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria, is also studded with diamonds, which makes sense considering its cometary origin, researchers said.

“Diamonds are produced from carbon-bearing material,” Kramers said. “Normally they form deep in the Earth, where the pressure is high, but you can also generate very high pressure with shock. Part of the comet impacted, and the shock of the impact produced the diamonds.”