© Anadolu Agency PhotoA part of the meteorite on display at Istanbul University's Geology Museum.
The meteorite weighing four kilograms landed in western Çanakkale province's Bayramiç district in 1964. Following initial research on its mineral structure, the meteorite was sent to NASA in 2012 for further examination. Following a four-year research, scientists found that the meteorite contained 19 different types of amino acids, including glycine, alanine, valine, serine, glutamic acid and aspartic acid.
Such a finding is considered important as it is the first time that amino acids have ever been detected in a meteorite that fell in Turkey.
Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), Yavuz Örnek, an associate professor at Istanbul University's Institute of Marine Sciences and Management, reportedly said that approximately 500 meteorites land on earth each year, but only around 10 percent of these could be retrieved while the rest fall in lakes, oceans, deserts and polar regions.
Hi,
The following statement, "approximately 500 meteorites land on earth each year, but only around 10 percent of these could be retrieved" exaggerates the number of recoveries. Some years result in a full order a magnitude of fewer recoveries than what is indicated: five new recoveries, not fifty. A bountiful year would result in ten new recoveries.
Meteorites are among the most exotic objects on Earth. If one were to take the weight of every single meteorite known to exist, they would still weigh less than the world's ANNUAL output of gold.
Sincerely,
Darryl Pitt
Darryl Pitt