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Space

Departed dwarf planet left us two meteorites

By David Shiga

18 March 2008

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

THE origin of two unusual meteorites has been puzzling researchers ever since they were found in Antarctica in 2006. Now they think they have found the culprit – a dwarf planet in our solar system that has apparently fled the scene.

The chemical composition of the rocky fragments – named GRA 06128 and GRA 06129 after the Graves Nunataks area they struck – differs from that of the majority of meteorites, ruling out a shattered asteroid as their source. Nor do they appear to be shards of the moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury, or any other known planet.

The clue that has solved the…

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