The idea of an asteroid striking the Earth is quite alarming to most of us – after all, it was the impact of a massive asteroid that is thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs, as well as 75% of the species living on our planet at the time.

Even the idea of a meteorite hitting the land where we live is quite scary, with potentially damaging consequences – though most meteors burn up on entry to our atmosphere, causing what we know as shooting stars.

And the ones that do hit Earth, are of a very specific formation, suggests new research from Curtin University’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Unfortunately, it’s not the type of material that our scientists need to unlock potential secrets about our universe.

In the research, which has been recently published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the international team of scientists seek to understand why so few of the asteroids and meteorites that hit and are subsequently discovered on Earth comprise of carbon.

That’s because though only 5% of the material recovered from asteroid and meteor strikes are made of carbon, these kinds of space objects are extremely prolific across our universe.

But why are they so keen to discover carbon-rich asteroids?

Well this kind of space material is fundamental to our understanding of life and the universe, as Paris Observatory’s Dr Patrick Shober, co-author on the study, explained in a statement:

“Carbon-rich meteorites are some of the most chemically primitive materials we can study — they contain water, organic molecules and even amino acids. However, we have so few of them in our meteorite collections that we risk having an incomplete picture of what’s actually out there in space and how the building blocks of life arrived on Earth. Understanding what gets filtered out and why is key to reconstructing our solar system’s history and the conditions that made life possible.”

Not only can the examination of such materials give us answers about how life-sustaining planets are created, it can also help us to understand and predict the trajectories of potential asteroid strikes – both on our home planet, and in space.

In their research, the team sought out and analysed data and material from around 8,500 asteroid and meteorite impacts.

With data derived from 39 countries, they pieced together the information to explain why carbon-rich meteorites are so abundant in space, but fail to reach our planet’s surface.

And their results were both comforting to the everyday person who doesn’t want to get hit by an asteroid, and potentially a little frustrating to the researchers hoping to unlock the secrets that these balls of carbon-rich rock hold.

Thanks to Earth’s atmosphere, as well as our proximity to the Sun, it seems that we are largely protected from the impact of these life-giving (and also life-ending) asteroids, as Curtin University’s Dr Hadrien Devillepoix, co-author on the study, continued:

“We’ve long suspected weak, carbonaceous material doesn’t survive atmospheric entry. What this research shows is many of these meteoroids don’t even make it that far: they break apart from being heated repeatedly as they pass close to the Sun. The ones that do survive getting cooked in space are more likely to also make it through Earth’s atmosphere.”

Between the Earth’s atmosphere and the power of the Sun, these asteroids and meteorites – rich in carbon, water, and other organic material – are filtered out, meaning that they break up long before they hit the surface of our planet.

Instead, we get to witness the spectacle as they blaze above our skies in the night.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about 50 amazing finds on Google Earth.