Researchers identify more than 2,600 organic compounds in the Michigan: Jerusalem...

The US state of Michigan was surprised in January 2018 when a meteorite crossed the sky and illuminated the entire region with its bright light. Thousands of people watched the event, which was recorded and reported around the world. Today, two years after the event, Little Heavenly Rock is making headlines again, this time for a completely different reason.

Tech 06. October

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Researchers at the Field Museum in Chicago have published the results of studies carried out on the object that have identified the presence of more than 2,600 “intact” organic compounds. These compounds, formed by long chains of carbon atoms, are extremely sensitive to the conditions of planet earth and can easily be contaminated by earth elements, thereby losing their original properties.

The discovery of these compounds was only possible thanks to the way in which the extraction of the meteorite was carried out. The rock was recovered less than 48 hours after falling on the surface of frozen strawberry lake near the city of Hamburg, preventing water and other weather conditions from affecting its composition. In honor of the location, the object was named Hamburg meteorite.

The rock is very special because it is a type H4 chondrite, which makes up only 4% of the rescued meteorites. H4 chondrites are special in that after they detach from their meteors they are bombarded with heat, which leaves many of their original components visible.

Hamburg and its 2,600 compounds, which date back to when the solar system was still forming, confirm the theory that meteors are essential for the formation of the early Earth and bring with them elements that our planet did not have until then, such as water .

“Although there are certain meteorites such as B. carbonaceous chondrites, which are thousands of times rich in organic matter, the fact that this common chondrite meteorite is rich in these compounds supports the hypothesis that meteorites played an important role in supplying these substances to the early Earth. Said Phillip Heck, healed from the Field Museum and lead author of the study.

The researcher concludes by stating that despite Hamburg’s rapid recovery, the land was still contaminated. According to him, the only way to get material completely free of outside agents is to take samples directly from asteroids that NASA has produced through its OSIRIS-REx mission and the Japanese space agency JAXA through its Hayabusa2 mission.