Science Quickly The Meteorite That Vanished: El Ali’s Strange Journey
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Oct 17, 2025 Dan Vergano, a Senior Editor at Scientific American and investigative journalist, delves into the mysterious journey of the El Ali meteorite, a rare find with minerals never before seen on Earth. He discusses its significance as a community landmark in Somalia and the shocking theft by armed men in 2020. The conversation explores the ethical dilemmas researchers face when studying stolen artifacts and the broader implications of meteorite smuggling in today's high-end collector market. Scientists express feelings of being duped, sparking necessary conversations about ethical practices.
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Meteorite As Village Landmark
- The El Ali meteorite was a local landmark where children played and herders sharpened knives.
- It sat in the Somali desert for generations before armed men stole it in 2020.
Scientific Value From Smuggled Samples
- Scientists received samples via a mining company and published analyses over 2022–2024.
- The meteorite is massive and reveals information about planet formation not seen in common silica meteorites.
New Minerals Reveal Space Collisions
- The meteorite contains three phosphate minerals never seen naturally on Earth.
- Those inclusions record extreme space-collision conditions that inform planet-building processes.