Scientists studying New Jersey home meteorite fragments said the July 2024 fall carried prebiotic molecules and rare CM1/2 carbonaceous chondrite material. The findings, published Wednesday in Science Advances, send a preserved sample from a homeowner’s roof to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Peter Jenniskens and CM1/2 material
Peter Jenniskens said the meteorite had been covered in concentrated salty fluids before it broke off from its parent asteroid, and he said that had never been seen before on this kind of object. The team identified the rock as a CM1/2 carbonaceous chondrite, a rare primitive material. Only the second observed fall of a CM1/2 carbonaceous chondrite was recorded.
The meteorite held soluble organic compounds, including magnesium organic compounds and amino acids. The researchers said the collection of alien world chemistry inside the sample suggests CM-type carbonaceous chondrite meteorites may have brought organic materials to Earth that later resulted in organic life.
New Jersey home fragments
After the July 2024 meteorite fall, the homeowner preserved the fragments in glass jars using disposable gloves and aluminum foil. That handling kept the material available for an international team of experts to study in detail, rather than losing it to weather or contamination before analysis.
The SETI Institute said the meteorite was one of the most scientifically valuable meteorites ever recovered. The meteorite passed over New York City before landing in New Jersey, adding a precise track to a sample that scientists rarely get to study after a fall.
American Museum of Natural History in New York City
Some of the fragments will enter the care of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Denton Ebel said, "We are thrilled that nature delivered such a precious asteroid sample on our doorstep".
Queenie Chan said it is possible that other asteroids made of carbonaceous chondrite delivered organic matter to the early Earth. The open question is how much of the meteorite’s organic chemistry formed on the parent asteroid before later impacts altered it.
