Journal ArticleDOI
Unusual stable isotope ratios in amino acid and carboxylic acid extracts from the Murchison meteorite
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TLDR
The isotopic composition of hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon in amino acid and monocarboxylic acid extracts from the Murchison meteorite confirms the extraterrestrial origin of both classes of compound, and provides the first evidence suggesting a direct relationship between the massive organo-synthesis occurring in interstellar clouds and the presence of pre-biotic compounds in primitive planetary bodies.Abstract:
Much effort has been directed to analyses of organic compounds in carbonaceous chondrites because of their implications for organic chemical evolution and the origin of life We have determined the isotopic composition of hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon in amino acid and monocarboxylic acid extracts from the Murchison meteorite The unusually high D/H and ^(15)N/^(14)N ratios in the amino acid fraction (δD = 1,370‰, after correction for isotope exchange; δ^(15)N = 90) are uniquely characteristic of known interstellar organic materials The δD value of the monocarboxylic acid fraction is lower (377‰), but still consistent with an interstellar origin These results confirm the extraterrestrial origin of both classes of compound, and provide the first evidence suggesting a direct relationship between the massive organo-synthesis occurring in interstellar clouds and the presence of pre-biotic compounds in primitive planetary bodies The isotope data also bear on the historical problem of distinguishing indigenous material from terrestrial contaminantsread more
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MonographDOI
Meteorites and the early solar system II
TL;DR: In this paper, the geologic diversity of asteroids and other rocky bodies of the solar system are displayed in the enormous variety of textures and mineralogies observed in meteorites, and the composition, chemistry, and mineralogy of primitive meteorites collectively provide evidence for a wide variety of chemical and physical processes.
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An introduction to organic geochemistry
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the long-term fate of organic matter in the geosphere and its role in sedimentary organic matter preservation and degradation in the geological timescale.
Journal ArticleDOI
Enantiomeric Excesses in Meteoritic Amino Acids
John R. Cronin,Sandra Pizzarello +1 more
TL;DR: Gas chromatographic-mass spectral analyses of the four stereoisomers of 2-amino-2,3-dimethylpentanoic acid obtained from the Murchison meteorite show that the L enantiomer occurs in excess, indicative of an asymmetric influence on organic chemical evolution before the origin of life.
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Organic compounds in carbonaceous meteorites
TL;DR: Structural and stable isotopic characteristics suggest that a number of environments may have contributed to the organic inventory, including interstellar space, the solar nebula and the asteroidal meteorite parent body.
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Cometary delivery of organic molecules to the early Earth.
TL;DR: A comprehensive treatment of comet-asteroid interaction with the atmosphere, surface impact, and resulting organic pyrolysis demonstrates that organics will not survive impacts at velocities greater than about 10 kilometers per second and that even comets and asteroids as small as 100 meters in radius cannot be aerobraked to below this velocity in 1-bar atmospheres.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Evidence for extraterrestrial amino-acids and hydrocarbons in the Murchison meteorite.
Keith A. Kvenvolden,James G. Lawless,Katherine Pering,Etta Peterson,Jose Flores,Cyril Ponnamperuma,Isaac R. Kaplan,Carleton B. Moore +7 more
TL;DR: Organic molecules found in meteorites seem to have been formed before the meteorites reached Earth, according to new research.
Journal ArticleDOI
The concentration and isotopic composition of hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen in carbonaceous meteorites☆
François Robert,Samuel Epstein +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, a simple model is proposed to explain the high δD values, and the relationships between δ D values and the concentration of H 2 in the acid residues of carbonaceous meteorites.
Journal ArticleDOI
Carbon isotope composition of low molecular weight hydrocarbons and monocarboxylic acids from Murchison meteorite
TL;DR: The results suggest the possibility that the production mechanisms for hydrocarbons and carboxylic acids may be similar and impose constraints on the identity of the reactant species, and are consistent with the kinetically controlled synthesis of higher homologues from lower ones.
Journal ArticleDOI
Interstellar organic matter in meteorites
Jongmann Yang,Samuel Epstein +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the D/H values of organic compounds derived from interstellar molecules were determined, which are the lower limits for the organic compounds generated by all processes subsequent to their formation.
Interstellar organic matter in meteorites.
Jongmann Yang,Samuel Epstein +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the D/H values of organic compounds derived from interstellar molecules were determined, which are the lower limits for the organic compounds generated by all processes subsequent to their formation.