Related papers: Extraterrestrial nucleobases in the Murchison mete…
How simple organic matter appeared on Earth and the processes by which it transformed into more evolved organic compounds, which ultimately led to the emergence of life, is still an open topic. Different scenarios have been proposed, the…
In the laboratory, the photo-and thermochemical evolution of ices, made of simple molecules of astrophysical relevance, always leads to the formation of semi-refractory water-soluble organic residues. Targeted searches for specific…
The main carrier of primordial heavy noble gases in chondrites is thought to be an organic phase, known as phase Q, whose precise characterization has resisted decades of investigation. Indirect techniques have revealed that phase Q might…
Major element fractionation among chondrites has been discussed for decades as ratios relative to Si or Mg. Recently, by expressing ratios relative to Fe, I discovered a new relationship admitting the possibility that ordinary chondrite…
CR meteorites are among the most primitive meteorites. In this paper, we report the first measurements of amino acids in Antarctic CR meteorites, two of which show the highest amino acid concentrations ever found in a chondrite. EET92042,…
Research over the past four decades has shown a rich variety of complex organic molecular content in some meteorites. This current study is an attempt to gain a better insight into the thermal conditions experienced by these molecules…
Nucleosynthetic Fe isotopic anomalies in meteorites may be used to reconstruct the early dynamical evolution of the solar system and to identify the origin and nature of the material that built planets. Using high-precision iron isotopic…
Earth's interior, I posit, is like one of the rare, oxygen-starved "enstatite chondrite" meteorites (and unlike a more-oxidized "ordinary chondrite" as has been believed for seventy years). Laboratory-analyzed enstatite-chondrite samples…
Metal-rich asteroids and iron meteorites are considered core remnants of differentiated planetesimals and or products of oxygen-depleted accretion. Investigating the origins of iron-rich planetesimals could provide key insights into planet…
Isotope anomalies provide important information about early solar system evolution. Here we report molybdenum isotope abundances determined in samples of various meteorite classes. There is no fractionation of molybdenum isotopes in our…
Understanding the provenance of CI and CM chondrites, the most primitive materials in our meteorite collections, is critical for shedding light on the Solar System's early evolution and contextualizing findings from recent sample return…
This concept article discusses the possibilities for identifying sedimentary-origin meteorites. The paper concerns (i) the macroscopic candidate for sedimentary meteorite in the epicenter of the 1908 Tunguska catastrophe; (ii) potential…
The chemical composition of a planetary body reflects its starting conditions modified by numerous processes during its formation and geological evolution. Measurements by X-ray, gamma-ray, and neutron spectrometers on the MESSENGER…
The origin of fatty acids on the prebiotic Earth is important as they likely formed the encapsulating membranes of the first protocells. Carbon-rich meteorites (i.e., carbonaceous chondrites) such as Murchison and Tagish Lake are well known…
The origin of life on Earth involves the early appearance of an information-containing molecule such as RNA. The basic building blocks of RNA could have been delivered by carbon-rich meteorites, or produced in situ by processes beginning…
Meteorites are a remarkable resource. They capture the imagination of people worldwide with their spectacular entry through Earth's atmosphere as fireballs, and their exotic character of being pieces of other worlds. Scientifically, they…
We present observations and analyses of eight white dwarf stars that have accreted rocky material from their surrounding planetary systems. The spectra of these helium-atmosphere white dwarfs contain detectable optical lines of all four…
Understanding the origin of comets requires knowledge of how the Solar System formed from a cloud of dust and gas 4.567 Gyr ago. Here, a review is presented of how the remnants of this formation process, meteorites and to a lesser extent…
UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic MicroMeteorites (UCAMMs) represent a small fraction of interplanetary dust particles reaching the Earth's surface and contain large amounts of an organic component not found elsewhere. They are most probably…
Measurements are reviewed showing that the interior of the Sun, the inner planets, and ordinary meteorites consist mostly of the same elements: Iron, oxygen, nickel, silicon, magnesium, sulfur and calcium. These results do not support the…