Researchers Uncover Origin of Mysterious Yellow Glass Found in Egyptian Desert
A team of researchers has made a breakthrough in unraveling the mystery behind a strange yellow glass that is found only in a specific area of the Great Sand Sea Desert. The glass, believed to have been formed by an intense impact from a meteorite 29 million years ago, has puzzled scientists for nearly a century.
The yellow glass, which can only be found scattered in a particular part of the desert in southeast Libya and southwestern parts of Egypt, was first brought to light in a scientific paper in 1933. Its rarity and enigmatic origin have captivated researchers and mineral collectors alike, with the glass even being found attached to a pendant within Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb.
New evidence, published in a scientific paper titled “Libyan Desert Glass: New evidence for an extremely high-pressure-temperature impact event from nanostructural study,” points to an extraterrestrial impact as the source of the yellow glass. Advanced microscopy technology revealed the presence of zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) in the glass, a mineral that can only be formed under extreme pressure and temperature conditions such as those created by a meteorite impact.
The researchers highly believe it was an extraterrestrial impact that hit the ground 29 million years ago at such intense pressure to create the glass. However, they note that to fully confirm their findings, they need to locate the parental crater where the meteorite hit the Earth’s surface, and it may possibly be eroded, deformed, or covered by sand.
This discovery brings scientists one step closer to understanding the origins of the mysterious yellow glass, shedding light on an ancient event that left its mark on the deserts of North Africa.