Peter Jenniskens said a meteorite in New Jersey that struck a home in July 2024 carried rare CM1/2 carbonaceous chondrite material and prebiotic molecules. The study was published Wednesday in ScienceAdvances, and some of the preserved fragments will enter the care of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
The homeowner kept the pieces in glass jars, using disposable gloves and aluminum foil. That handling helped an international team study fragments that the SETI Institute described as one of the most scientifically valuable meteorites ever recovered.
New Jersey home fragments
The meteorite passed over New York City before landing in New Jersey, then broke into pieces that could be recovered from the home. Jenniskens said the material was only the second observed fall of a CM1/2 carbonaceous chondrite, a rare primitive class that gave researchers a close look at material that had not spent long on the ground.
The study focused on what the fragments contained and how they got that way. Researchers found soluble organic compounds, including magnesium organic compounds, along with amino acids, inside the meteorite.
ScienceAdvances study findings
The team said a forensic study showed the meteorite had been covered in concentrated salty fluids, or a brine, before it broke off from its parent asteroid. Jenniskens said that had never been seen before on this kind of object. He also said the parent asteroid had liquid water that evaporated.
The researchers said high salt concentration in brines can create molecules crucial to life on Earth. They said brines allow phosphate to remain suspended in a solution and can spark chemical reactions between some materials, giving them a way to examine how life-related chemistry can form in asteroids.
American Museum of Natural History
Queenie Chan said it is possible that other asteroids made of carbonaceous chondrite delivered organic matter to the early Earth. The researchers said the collection of alien world chemistry inside the meteorite suggests that CM-type carbonaceous chondrite meteorites may have brought organic materials to Earth that later resulted in organic life.
Denton Ebel said, "We are thrilled that nature delivered such a precious asteroid sample on our doorstep." With fragments moving to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the sample is set to remain available for further study rather than disappear into private hands.
