A glimpse of the solar system's origins: Striking details on the molecules inside a meteorite
Researchers at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory have teamed up to get a fresh look at the complex makeup of meteorites and glimpse into our solar system's past.
Powerful spectrometry found only at the MagLab identified the vast array of organic compounds inside two meteorites, and Brookhaven scientists followed up with images detailing the structure of some of those extraterrestrial molecules. Their research suggests that the chemical foundation for life is deeply woven into the fabric of the universe and broadens our understanding of the cosmic ingredients that rained down on early Earth, potentially kickstarting life as we know it. The study was published in The Planetary Science Journal.
"This can shed light on how much complex organic material is out in space," said Joseph Frye-Jones, who led the mass spectrometry research as a Florida State University graduate research assistant and is the lead author on the paper.
To conduct the research, Frye-Jones obtained fragments of the Murchison meteorite, a space rock billions of years old that fell in Australia in 1969. The piece came from Chicago's Field Museum. Frye-Jones also received a piece of the Aguas Zarcas meteorite, which fell in Costa Rica in 2019, provided by the Buseck Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University.
A sample from the Murchison meteorite, which fell in Victoria, Australia in 1969. Credit: Joseph Frye-Jones
Images of 14 organic molecules from the Murchison meteorite, produced at Brookhaven National Laboratory using high resolution noncontact atomic force microscopy. Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory