Rare Space Glass Found in Western Australian Outback

A prospector's search for gold has led to the discovery of a rare piece of space history in the remote Western Australian outback.

Jim Miles discovered a black, glassy object while prospecting approximately 150 kilometers northeast of Kalgoorlie. The object was later identified as an australite—a type of tektite formed from re-solidified molten rock ejected by a meteorite impact.

"This is like the only place in the world that you find these type of space objects, which have got an amazing history when you read about them," Miles said. "I've been dying to find one for ages and finally got one."

Miles contacted Curtin University about his discovery and has since donated the specimen to the university's Space Science and Technology Centre in Perth, where planetary scientist Aaron Cavosie will examine it.

The Mystery of the Australites

Australites are part of a larger group known as Australasian tektites, believed to have formed around 800,000 years ago from a single, massive meteorite impact.

According to Aaron Cavosie, the shape of these tektites is remarkably similar to the heat shields used on atmospheric re-entry modules from the Apollo program. Despite extensive study, the specific impact site that created them remains a scientific mystery.

"We know that they're a natural glass that formed from an impact somewhere but, mind-bogglingly, we don't know where that impact site is," Cavosie stated.

He explained that fragments from this ancient event are scattered across a vast region. Australites have been found in ocean cores in the Indian Ocean, across Australia, in the Pacific Ocean, as far south as Antarctica, and as far north as Southeast Asia.

A Geologically Recent Event

Cavosie emphasized the relative recency of the event on a geological timescale.

"Eight-hundred thousand years is not that long ago, geologically, that's kind of like last night."

Discoveries like Miles's are uncommon, typically reported only once every year or two. Cavosie noted that more discoveries could be key to helping scientists finally pinpoint the elusive impact crater.

A Remarkable Coincidence

In a striking coincidence, on the very same day Jim Miles reported his find, PhD student Sophie Deam brought an australite she had found during a meteorite search on the Nullarbor Plain to Cavosie's office.

Cavosie described the dual discovery as "lightning striking the same place twice."