The Allende Meteorite

The rock and the quasi-crystal it contained were natural, proving that at least some quasi-crystals remain stable for far longer than physicists had been studying them in the lab. The scientists needed more material to retrace their sample's path back to its source. "'We had to discover how the rock managed to get to the museum,' Steinhard said. 'First it was controversial, if it was natural. Then we found unambiguous meteorite science.'"