SciAm: 1969 Meteorite Still Revealing Solar System Secrets

[bystander]

Meteorite That Fell in 1969 Still Revealing Secrets of the Early Solar System
Scientific American - 2010 Feb 15

A new analysis of the Murchison meteorite, which fell to Earth more than 40 years ago, reveals tens of thousands of organic compounds

Meteorite Holds Millions of Unidentified Organic Compounds
Universe Today - 2010 Feb 15

New analysis of the famous Murchison meteorite that crash-landed in Australia over 40 years ago shows the space rock contains millions of previously unidentified organic compounds. Researchers say the meteorite, which is over 4.65 billion old – and likely older than our Sun — offers evidence that the early solar system likely had a higher molecular diversity than Earth, and may offer clues to the origins of life on our planet.

Meteorite Crammed with 'Millions' of Organic Compounds
Discovery Space News - 2010 Feb 15

A meteorite that hit the town of Murchison, Australia, hasn't quit giving up its secrets.

The Murchison meteorite is one of the most studied space rocks because many pieces were recovered after it was seen breaking up as it fell through the atmosphere in 1969. Approximately 100 kg of the carbonaceous chondrite was recovered.

Carbonaceous chondrites are extremely important to scientists as they were formed from material that existed in the solar system's planet-forming disk of gas and dust. They are, quite literally, time capsules holding onto a 4 billion year old record of the birth of our solar system.

[neufer]

Perhaps this will finally resolve the nagging question of whether Barack Obama was born on earth or not.

[bystander]

80beats: Meteorite, Maybe Older Than the Sun, Shows Chemistry of Ancient Solar System

Four decades later, the Murchison meteorite is still full of surprises. When this extraterrestrial hunk fell to Earth near its namesake town in Australia in 1969, people managed to salvage more than 200 pounds of it. And now a new analysis of the meteorite, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that it could hold millions of carbon-containing compounds. Researchers say the findings provide insight into the complex chemistry present when the chunk of space-rock formed, back when our solar system was young.