Understanding the physicochemical evolution of the outer protoplanetary disk is critical because it governed the distribution and delivery of key volatiles such as water and organic compounds to the inner, […]
Carbonaceous Chondrite
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Carbonaceous Chondrites Provide Evidence For Late-stage Planetesimal Formation In A Pressure Bump
Carbonaceous chondrites are samples from planetesimals that formed 2-4 million years after solar system formation began.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Status Report
The Efficient Delivery Of Highly-siderophile Elements To The Core Creates A Mass Accretion Catastrophe For The Earth
The excess abundance of highly siderophile elements (HSEs), as inferred for the terrestrial planets and the Moon, is thought to record a `late veneer’ of impacts after the giant impact […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Hydration Features on Near-Earth Objects: Integrating New Data with Prior Results
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are excellent laboratories for testing processes that affect airless bodies, as well as informing us about solar system history.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Sample Return
Abiotic Sugar Enantiomers In The CI Carbonaceous Chondrite Orgueil
The uneven detection of prebiotic organic compounds in meteorites—where amino acids and nucleobases are commonly identified but sugars remain rare and poorly characterized—limits our understanding of extraterrestrial organic chemistry.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Interstellar Ices as Carriers of Supernova Material to the Early Solar System
Planetary materials show systematic variations in their nucleosynthetic isotope compositions that resonate with orbital distance. The origin of this pattern remains debated, limiting how these isotopic signatures can be used […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Ceres, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return, Status Report
Challenges and Opportunities in Using Amino Acids to Decode Carbonaceous Chondrite and Asteroid Parent Body Processes
Carbonaceous chondrite (CC) meteorites are fragments of planetesimals that hold clues about the early solar system’s organic matter. Amino acids are key to life on Earth; thus their study from […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Origin Of Moderately Volatile Elements In Earth
The bulk silicate Earth (BSE) is depleted in moderately volatile elements, indicating Earth formed from a mixture of volatile-rich and -poor materials.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Sample Return
Evidence Blasted Into Space: Mystery Why Some Meteorites Look Less Shocked Solved
Carbon-containing meteorites look like they had less severe impacts than those without carbon because the evidence was blasted into space by gases produced during the impact. The Kobe University discovery […]
![Orbital distribution of 7,982 impacts detected by EDMOND, CAMS, GMN, FRIPON, and EFN networks. Each impact is estimated to be equal to or greater than 10 g (diameter ⪆2 cm) at the top of the atmosphere. Orbital distribution is normalized to the impact probability, as calculated using the method of Pokorn`y and Vokrouhlick`y [96]. Despite this, there still exists a concentration of meteoroids on orbits with q∼1 au -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Perihelion-History-And-Atmospheric-Survival.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Perihelion History And Atmospheric Survival As Primary Drivers Of The Earth’s Meteorite Record
Models predict that more than half of all impacting meteoroids should be carbonaceous, reflecting the abundance of carbon-rich asteroids in the main belt and near-Earth space.