Magnetic fields ingrained in meteorite grains provide clues towards the birth of the solar system. The magnetic fields, frozen into the meteorite grains, tell of the initial steps in solar system formation and the formation of planets similar to Earth, according to astrophysicist Steve Desch from ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration.

The most accurate measurements from the laboratory to date, from magnetic fields ingrained in grains of a primitive meteorite, yield crucial clues of early solar system evolution. The measurements indicate that a major factor in solar system formation is shock waves that travel through the dusty gas surrounding the newborn Sun.

Results appear in the journal Science in a paper published on November 13.

Desch said in a statement, “The measurements made by Fu and Weiss are astounding and unprecedented.” He continues, “Not only have they measured tiny magnetic fields thousands of times weaker than a compass feels, they have mapped the magnetic fields’ variation recorded by the meteorite, millimeter by millimeter.”

Although the solar system began to form around 4.5 billion years ago, debris left behind has given scientists material to study. Some of the most useful debris is the oldest and most primitive types of meteorites known as chondrites. These meteorites are parts of asteroids that broke off following collisions and have remained largely unchanged since forming at the birth of the solar system.

According to meteorite.com, a meteorite is a piece of rock or iron that lands on the ground after a fiery passage through the atmosphere.