Many aspects of planet formation are controlled by the amount of gas remaining in the natal protoplanetary disk (PPDs). Infrared observations show that PPDs undergo a transition stage at several […]
Meteorites & Asteroids
Posted inMars, Meteorites & Asteroids
Martian Meteorite Yields More Evidence of Possibility of Life on Mars
The finding of a ‘cell-like’ structure, which investigators now know once held water, came about as a result of collaboration between scientists in the UK and Greece. Their findings are […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Meteorites & Asteroids
Complex Organic Molecules in Comets C/2012 F6 and C/2013 R1
A spectral survey in the 1 mm wavelength range was undertaken in the long-period comets C/2012 F6 (Lemmon) and C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) using the 30 m telescope of the Institut […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia
Vitamin B3 Might Have Been Made in Space, Delivered to Earth by Meteorites
Ancient Earth might have had an extraterrestrial supply of vitamin B3 delivered by carbon-rich meteorites, according to a new analysis by NASA-funded researchers. The result supports a theory that the […]
Posted inMars, Meteorites & Asteroids
Meteorites Yield Clues to Mars' Early Atmosphere
Geologists who analyzed 40 meteorites that fell to Earth from Mars unlocked secrets of the Martian atmosphere hidden in the chemical signatures of these ancient rocks. Their study, published April […]
Posted inMars, Meteorites & Asteroids
Evidence of Water in a Martian Meteorite
A team of scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., has found evidence of past water movement throughout a Martian meteorite, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia
Nature's Starships: Observed Abundances and Relative Frequencies of Amino Acids in Meteorites
The class of meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites are examples of material from the solar system which have been relatively unchanged from the time of their initial formation. These meteorites have […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Meteorites & Asteroids
Searching Space Dust for Life's Ingredients
While the origin of life remains mysterious, scientists are finding more and more evidence that material created in space and delivered to Earth by comet and meteor impacts could have […]
Posted inMeteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
Water on the Moon and Earth Came From The Same Primitive Meteorites
The water found on the moon, like that on Earth, came from small meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites in the first 100 million years or so after the solar system formed, […]
Posted inMars, Meteorites & Asteroids
Studying Meteorites May Reveal Mars' Secrets of Life
In an effort to determine if conditions were ever right on Mars to sustain life, a team of scientists, including a Michigan State University professor, has examined a meteorite that […]