A meteorite is seen to impact upon Earth and is found to contain significant amounts of ²⁶Mg, the stable decay product of radioactive ²⁶Al. What conclusion can be drawn from this observation? A)Radioactivity occurs naturally in normal matter and so this finding is not surprising. B)An energetic nuclear event, possibly a supernova, occurred near the Sun and produced ²⁶Al at about the time that this meteorite was formed. C)The meteorite became so hot on its descent through Earth's atmosphere, that it became radioactive. D)The meteorite had probably passed through radioactive clouds in space before hitting Earth.

Question

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The presence of significant amounts of ²⁶Mg, the stable decay product of radioactive ²⁶Al, suggests that an energetic nuclear event occurred near the Sun, possibly a supernova, at about the time that this meteorite was formed. This is because ²⁶Al is produced by the decay of unstable aluminum isotopes that are formed in such energetic events. This finding is not explained by options A, C, or D.

A Meteorite Is Seen to Impact Upon Earth and Is