University Scientists Continue Studying Samples of Meteoritic Matter Found

09:40, April 13, 2022

The discovery was made during an Antarctic expedition

Ural Federal University researchers Aleksandr Pastukhovich and Vladilen Sanakoev on the Day of Cosmonautics told a press conference at TASS about how the university studies the cosmos and what unusual celestial phenomena are waiting for residents of the Ural in the near future.

For example, a few years ago Ural Federal University scientists participated in the first Antarctic Meteorite Expedition in the history of modern Russia. Aleksandr Pastukhovich, the Head of the expedition's search team, spoke about the importance of ground-based space research.

"Our first expedition to Antarctica took place in 2015-2016, and the last one in 2021. In between, we worked in the hot deserts of Iran, Mongolia, and Chile. Hot and cold deserts are just a kind of accumulation of meteoritic matter, there are separate accumulation zones. And our main task is to find them," Pastukhovich noted.

After the expeditions, chemical studies, structural studies, and isotopic analysis of the samples found in Antarctica were conducted. However, some of the findings are still unqualified by scientists. Now the origin of the minerals is being studied and experiments to determine their age are taking place.

As for observing celestial bodies, this work is constantly done at the university. According to Vladimir Sanakoev, an engineer of the Ural Federal University Training Astronomical Observatory, this year's most significant event for the Ural will be the solar eclipse. It will occur on the new moon of October 25 and will be clearly visible in our region - 83% of the solar disk will be covered.

Quite soon, on April 29, it will be possible to see Mercury, and those who wish will be able to observe the celestial body with the help of binoculars. In addition, on May 4, Ekaterinburg residents will have the opportunity to observe the International Space Station from the university's astronomical observatory.

The news article was translated by UrFU International Marketing Office
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