Isotopes of aluminium

Aluminium isotopes have found practical application in dating marine sediments, manganese nodules, glacial ice, quartz in rock exposures, and meteorites.

[citation needed] 26Al has also played a significant role in the study of meteorites.

Meteorite fragments, after departure from their parent bodies, are exposed to intense cosmic-ray bombardment during their travel through space, causing substantial 26Al production.

Meteorite research has also shown that 26Al was relatively abundant at the time of formation of our planetary system.

Most meteoriticists believe that the energy released by the decay of 26Al was responsible for the melting and differentiation of some asteroids after their formation 4.55 billion years ago.