The Allende meteorite contained an abundance of ²⁶Mg,an isotope of magnesium.What is the significance?

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

²⁶Mg is the stable product of the decay of radioactive ²⁶Al. The presence of ²⁶Mg indicates that ²⁶Al was present in the early solar system. ²⁶Al has a half-life of only 700,000 years, meaning it must have been produced relatively recently (in astronomical terms) before the formation of the solar system. The most likely source of ²⁶Al is a nearby supernova explosion, which would have seeded the surrounding interstellar medium with these heavy elements. Therefore, the Allende meteorite's abundance of ²⁶Mg suggests that it formed from material that was not fully homogenized in the early solar system, but instead contained material enriched with ²⁶Al from a nearby supernova.

The Allende Meteorite Contained an Abundance of ²⁶Mg,an Isotope of Magnesium.What