One small piece of rock, but a giant discovery for scientists. This is one of the first pieces of meteorite to be discovered in the UK for three decades.

"This is a once in a lifetime experience really for us," says Ashley King from the Natural History Museum.

"So, it's incredibly rare for meteorites to actually be witnessed coming down, landing on the earth, and being recovered."

The rocks that have been found are so rare, they're a type of meteorite never before seen in the UK.

"This is what we call a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite, and so that means it comes from the birth of our solar system," explains King.

"So, this rock is 4.6 billion years old, and it contains all the ingredients that were there when our solar system was forming, that went into making asteroids, went into making comets, and ultimately. Went into making planets like the Earth."

When a fireball meteor was seen shooting through the night sky, scientists dared to dream that small pieces of it may have landed.

They asked people to search in an area just north of the English town of Cheltenham and began getting calls from the town of Winchcombe.

Sure enough, the rocks people were finding here were meteorites.

Scientists began searching the local area, that search led them here, to Lachland Bond's parents' farm.

"So, we actually found out via the scientists coming to our door, knocking and saying that there had been a potential meteorite falling on our land and if they could have a little look," explains Bond.

Within an hour, they found something.

"If it gives us a little bit of a glimpse into history, then that will be a wonderful thing to be able to say that it happened on our land," says Bond.

The last time a meteorite was discovered in the UK was back in 1991.

People in Winchcombe sense history has been made here.

"From our point of view, it's exciting, people have actually had a purpose to go out and walk at the moment, not they didn't have a purpose already, but they certainly now have a purpose to go out and walk," says one resident.

"This is exciting news. Yeah, it is, yes. Puts Winchcombe on the map for yet another reason," says another.

Share:
More In Science
Markets Rebound on Potential Covid-19 Pill from Merck
Futures rebounded this morning in reaction to positive news from Merck that its covid-19 treatment pill is 50 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations and death. It comes after a rocky month on Wall Street, which saw all the major averages post their worst months in over a year. Chris Vecchio, Senior Analyst, at DailyFX joined Wake Up with Cheddar for more.
Virgin Galactic Cleared to Resume Space Missions Following FAA Probe
The FAA has completed its investigation of Virgin Galactic’s Unity 22 test flight on July 12 after the aircraft flew out of protected airspace on its descent back to Earth. Virgin Galactic has been given the green light to resume flights but must request a larger share of protected airspace for future missions.
YouTube Begins Clearing Platform of Fake News Related to Vaccines
YouTube is working to ensure that fake news surrounding COVID-19 vaccines, or any other vaccine, is removed from the platform. The media giant has begun wiping videos related to conspiracies, vaccine testimonies, and other content that says approved vaccines are dangerous.
Load More