He thought it was gold, but inside this 4.6 billion-year-old meteorite he found something even stranger

He was out prospecting for gold in 2015, when something far heavier than any ordinary rock caught his eye. David Hole believed he had stumbled upon a valuable nugget in Maryborough, just a few hours from Melbourne.

A curious find

At first glance, the odd reddish rock looked like it might hold a fortune. Hole tried every method he could think of to see if there was gold buried inside.

Melbourne Museum geologist Dermot Henry first examined the object when Hole brought it in, still believing it contained hidden treasure.

Henry recognized qualities that made the rock stand out from typical specimens that people lug into the museum.

Unbreakable mystery

The stone withstood onslaughts with a rock saw, power drills, and even repeated hammer blows. Hole’s attempts to crack it exposed an important detail: the thing was tough in a way that ordinary, gold-containing stones are not.

After a diamond saw finally cut off a thin slice, the internal structure showed an abundance of iron and nickel. 

It was an H5 ordinary chondrite meteorite weighing 17 kilograms (37.5 pounds), and originally part of the leftover chunks from our Solar System’s early days.

Second largest of its kind

Experts concluded that this Maryborough meteorite is around 4.6 billion years old. It is only the 17th meteorite ever recorded in the Australian state of Victoria and the second-largest single chondritic mass found there.

Bill Birch, also from the Melbourne Museum, immediately noticed how unnaturally heavy the stone felt for its size. He recognized the polished, sculpted exterior, shaped was by a fiery descent through Earth’s atmosphere.

Why it matters

The researchers say meteorites like this provide vital pieces in the puzzle of how our planetary neighborhood formed. By analyzing their chemical makeup, scientists can learn about conditions that existed long before Earth was fully formed.

When the Solar System took shape, it began as a swirling mix of gas and chondrite fragments. Much of this material coalesced into planets, while some lumps never merged and ended up in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Unexpected journey

A cosmic collision in that belt might have dislodged the Maryborough meteorite long ago. It then hurtled through space, entered Earth’s atmosphere, and eventually plopped into the clay where Hole discovered it.

Carbon dating places its arrival at anywhere between 100 and 1,000 years ago. Observers in the region reported bright fireballs overhead at different times in history, any one of which might have been the final leg of this stone’s cosmic trip.

Historic significance

Investigations show that meteorites of this size do not surface often in Victoria. Many people find gold in Maryborough’s fields, but few come across something formed beyond our planet.

“Meteorites provide the cheapest form of space exploration. They transport us back in time, providing clues to the age, formation, and chemistry of our Solar System (including Earth),” said Henry.

Rarity over gold

“This is only the 17th meteorite found in Victoria, whereas there’s been thousands of gold nuggets found,” said Henry. That ratio alone underlines how uncommon such objects can be.

Scientists discovered small, metallic chondrules within the space rock. These droplets once floated in a cloud of hot dust in the early Solar System, and eventually hardened into solid rock.

Museum-worthy exhibit

The Maryborough meteorite was placed on display at the Melbourne Museum. Hole, who never found gold in that rock, later marveled at its grander significance.

Experts classify it as an H5 ordinary chondrite, a type believed to resemble the material that formed our planet. Learning about its texture and composition may shed light on how Earth evolved.

Short stay on Earth

The meteorite’s weathered surface suggests it has not spent more than a few centuries in the soil. Researchers point to several historical newspaper accounts about blazing objects in the sky, any of which could match its rough arrival date.

In July 2019, Henry and Birch, along with other collaborators, published a detailed paper describing the meteorite’s properties. Their study chronicles its structure and chemical makeup, and offers a glimpse at an untouched fragment of our early neighborhood.

Surprising treasure

Hole never got the gold he expected, but he discovered something even more precious to science. His story is a reminder that unusual objects can turn out to be cosmic gifts hiding right under our feet.

Anybody with a backyard might have an interstellar souvenir tucked away in the dirt. In rare cases, that suspiciously heavy rock could be a time capsule from the origins of the Solar System.

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