Recondite interstellar carbon components in the Allende meteorite revealed by preparative precombustion

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that carbon in the Allende carbonaceous chondrite meteorite is predominantly a poorly crystalline graphite. Such material is of interest as an important carrier of the isotopically anomalous noble gases found in carbonaceous chondrites.

Allende meteorite

Carbonaceous chondrite

Carbon fibers

Murchison meteorite

10.1126/science.11536554

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Citations (113)

Amino-acids, Aliphatic and Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Murchison Meteorite

Nature (1971)

J. Oró Jordi M. de Gibert H. A. Lichtenstein S. A. Wikström D. A. Flory

Murchison meteorite

Carbonaceous chondrite

Allende meteorite

Carbon fibers

Sarcosine

10.1038/230105a0

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Citations (190)

The Winchcombe meteorite, a unique and pristine witness from the outer solar system

Science Advances (2022)

A. J. King Luke Daly James B. Rowe K. H. Joy R. C. Greenwood

Direct links between carbonaceous chondrites and their parent bodies in the solar system are rare. The Winchcombe meteorite is the most accurately recorded carbonaceous chondrite fall. Its pre-atmospheric orbit and cosmic-ray exposure age confirm that it arrived on Earth shortly after ejection from a primitive asteroid. Recovered only hours after falling, the composition of the Winchcombe meteorite is largely unmodified by the terrestrial environment. It contains abundant hydrated silicates formed during fluid-rock reactions, and carbon- and nitrogen-bearing organic matter including soluble protein amino acids. The near-pristine hydrogen isotopic composition of the Winchcombe meteorite is comparable to the terrestrial hydrosphere, providing further evidence that volatile-rich carbonaceous asteroids played an important role in the origin of Earth's water.

10.1126/sciadv.abq3925

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Citations (42)