News
|Meteorite lands at Natural History Museum
The meteorite, called Ivuna, landed in Tanzania in 1938 but has only recently been made available for scientific research.
Ivuna has a rare chemical make-up that matches that of the sun, making it of great interest to scientists trying to unravel the secrets of the solar system.
Dr Caroline Smith, meteorite curator at the Natural History Museum, explained: "Ivuna is a real-life time capsule that means we can look at the very first steps of how our solar system formed. We hold one of the most comprehensive meteorite collections in the world, yet Ivuna has been a missing piece in the jigsaw.
"If we can better understand the complex processes that occurred in our solar system over 4.5 billion years ago, we can apply this to other stellar systems where planets are forming today."
Kensington hotel visitors will soon be able to inspect the rock when it is exhibited in the Natural History Museum's meteorites gallery, which is due to open in the near future.
Book your stay at the Copthorne Tara Hotel London Kensington
