Ariana's amazing discovery is just out of this world

A DAY at the beach usually means sandcastles, splashing in the sea and hunting for the prettiest shells.

- LOIS MCCARTHY

> Nine-year-old Ariana Church with the meteorite she found in Penarth

(Hayley Church)

But for nine-year-old Ariana Church, a trip to Penarth Pier in the summer of 2025 turned into something far more extraordinary.

The then eight-year-old went with her father Matt and her little sister Leyla.

"We were just trying to keep them occupied during the six-week holiday," recalled her mother Hayley.

As Leyla and Matt enjoyed their family day out, Ariana wandered along the shoreline, eyes scanning the sand and stones.

"She's always looking down," Hayley said. "It was a regular thing she wanted to do."

That day, Ariana spotted two unusual stones: a piece of volcanic rock and another dark, strangely textured rock. A geologist later confirmed that the volcanic rock had likely come from the last volcanic eruption in Spain.

Fascinating but it was the other stone that would prove truly remarkable.