Allende Meteorite - "The Oldest Known Material"

Allende is one of the most famous and scientifically significant meteorites ever discovered, a celestial artifact that has captivated researchers and astronomers alike. A member of the chondrite class, it crashed to Earth in 1969 near the town of Pueblito de Allende in Mexico, forever altering our understanding of the early solar system. What sets Allende apart is its exceptional preservation of the oldest materials known to humankind, containing stardust and minerals that date back to the very birth of the solar system, over 4.5 billion years ago. Allende is a rare time capsule, revealing the intricate processes that shaped the early solar nebula. It is rich in calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs)—some of the first solid material to condense from the cooling gases that surrounded the young Sun. These inclusions, along with its diverse mix of chondrules and refractory minerals, provide a snapshot of the chemical and physical conditions that existed in the nascent solar system. The m