--- title: "Scientists Believe They Found a Chunk of an Ancient Planet in Africa" description: "Ancient Planet According to a new analysis, ScienceAlert reports, a meteorite found last year in Algeria is actually older than the Earth itself. Instead, an international team of scientists behind the research say, it appears to be a remnant of an ancient protoplanet — making the space rock an extraordinary curiosity that could offer unprecedented […]" date: "2021-03-09" modified: "2021-03-09" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-chunk-ancient-planet-africa" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "ancient planets" - "asteroids" - "earth science" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Believe They Found a Chunk of an Ancient Planet in Africa ![According to a new analysis, a meteorite found last year in Algeria is a piece of an ancient planet, older than the Earth itself.]() *\Image: A. Irving via The Meteoritical Society / Futurism\* ## Ancient Planet According to a new analysis, [*ScienceAlert* reports](), a meteorite found last year in Algeria is actually older than the Earth itself. Instead, an international team of scientists behind the research say, it appears to be a remnant of an ancient protoplanet — making the space rock an extraordinary curiosity that could offer unprecedented insights into the early years of our solar system. ## Stuffed Crust *ScienceAlert* reports that the rock asteroid was quickly identified as unusual after its discovery in the Erg Check sand sea last May, since unlike most meteorites, it had clearly been formed by a volcano — a suggestion that it had originated as part of a planet's crust. But as described in a [new paper]() published in the *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*, an analysis of radioactive decay of the sample's isotopes now shows that it formed around 4.566 billion years ago. That's a bit longer than the Earth has been around, meaning that it's likely part of a different — and probably now long-gone — world. ## Distant Past It's not immediately clear what protoplanet the asteroid might have originated from. But since it's now the oldest magmatic rock ever identified, the researchers wrote in their paper, it's almost certain to be an object of intense further analysis. And what scientists find by studying the ancient shard could shed new light on the history of our star system. **READ MORE:** [This Is a Piece of a Lost Protoplanet, And It's Officially Older Than Earth]() \[*ScienceAlert*\] **More on ancient planets:** [*Jupiter May Have Absorbed a Smaller Planet*]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()