According to a news release from the University of Witwatersrand, researchers have found the first ever evidence of a comet striking Earth. Eventually, the finding could help scientists solve the longstanding mystery of the formation of our solar system.

“Comets always visit our skies – they’re these dirty snowballs of ice mixed with dust – but never before in history has material from a comet ever been found on Earth,” posits Professor David Block of Wits University.

According to NASA, comets are comprised of ices, dust and rocky debris left over from the early formation of the solar system approximately 4.5 billion years ago. The space agency notes that it is important to learn about the nature of comets so we can be better prepared should one be on a collision path with Earth.

The comet in question infiltrated Earth’s atmosphere above Egypt approximately 28 million years ago. As it invaded the atmosphere, it exploded, warming up the sand beneath it to a temperature of approximately 2,000 degrees Celsius, and causing the development of a large quantity of yellow silica glass which sits dispersed over a 6,000 square kilometer region in the Sahara. In fact, a truly breathtaking example of the glass, buffed by ancient jewelers, can be observed in Tutankhamun’s brooch with its remarkable yellow-brown scarab.

The team focused their efforts on a strange black pebble discovered years earlier by an Egyptian geologist in the area of the silica glass. After using extremely advanced chemical methods to examine the pebble, the researchers realized that it represented the first known hand specimen of a comet nucleus (comets have three parts: the nucleus, the coma and the tails), as opposed to a strange type of meteorite.

“It’s a typical scientific euphoria when you eliminate all other options and come to the realization of what it must be,” says Professor Jan Kramers of the University of Johannesburg.

The force of the explosion also generated microscopic diamonds.

“Diamonds are produced from carbon bearing material. 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,” Kramers adds.

According to the news release, the researchers have named the pebble “Hypatia” after the first famous female mathematician, astronomer and philosopher: Hypatia of Alexandria.

Comet material is extremely mysterious. In fact, comet pieces have not been located on Earth before except as tiny dust particles in the upper atmosphere and some carbon-rich dust in the Antarctic ice. According to the University of Witwatersrand, the amount of money spent on efforts to locate the tiniest quantity of pure comet matter totals in the billions of dollars.

“NASA and ESA spend billions of dollars collecting a few micrograms of comet material and bringing it back to Earth, and now we’ve got a radical new approach of studying this material, without spending billions of dollars collecting it,” Kramers notes.

Scientists from a number of different fields are taking part in a research program that focuses on the study and analysis of Hypatia.

“Comets contain the very secrets to unlocking the formation of our solar system and this discovery gives us an unprecedented opportunity to study comet material first hand,” Block says.

The study’s findings are described in detail in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

What do you think of the study’s findings? Share your thoughts in the comments section.