Evening Standard

4.5 billion-year-old asteroid could reveal the origins of life on Earth

Source: PA Wire

Samples of a 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid that have travelled millions of miles to make it to Earth could reveal the origins of life on the planet.

The teaspoon-sized specimen, taken from asteroid Bennu, is being examined by scientists at the Natural History Museum (NHM).

The otherwise unremarkable black dust-like sample could help shed light on some of the biggest questions about how Earth formed.

It could hold vital clues to the formation of the planets and our solar system, experts say.

Professor Sara Russell, senior research lead at

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Evening Standard

Evening Standard2 min read
Cardi B ‘Shuts Down’ Carpet At Met Gala With Bold Fashion Ensemble
US rapper Cardi B made a bold Met Gala fashion statement, posing with a voluminous black tulle train and matching headwrap. “This is the way you shut down the Met Gala carpet,” Vogue livestream host La La Anthony said, as attendees were forced to wai
Evening Standard2 min readCrime & Violence
Woman Pleads Guilty To Online Monkey Cruelty Offences After Global Investigation
A woman has admitted uploading 22 images and 132 videos of monkeys being tortured to online chat groups. Holly LeGresley was told that “all options” will be available at her sentencing hearing next month after she pleaded guilty to separate charges o
Evening Standard4 min readCrime & Violence
Fake Police Officer Waving 'Lookalike Warrant Card' Tried To Pull Woman Over On M1
A woman has spoken of her fear after a man pretending to be a police officer tried to pull her over as she drove alone on the M1 motorway. The man appeared to be showing a warrant card, but she refused to pull over in light of Sarah Everard’s murder

Related Books & Audiobooks