What it is
The authors made high-precision triple oxygen isotope measurements on insoluble organic matter from a diverse suite of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. In primitive Type 1 and 2 chondrites, including CI, CM, CR, Bells and Tarda, the organic matter's oxygen isotope compositions cluster on or near the CCAM (carbonaceous chondrite anhydrous mineral) line, which is related to the mixing of primitive oxygen isotope reservoirs in the early solar system.
Why it matters
Unraveling how extraterrestrial organic matter formed and was altered is key to understanding the chemical evolution of the solar system, and potentially the emergence of life on Earth. The finding suggests that primitive meteoritic organic matter acquired oxygen of primitive origin and that its oxygen isotope signatures have been minimally altered by processes on its parent bodies, which offers constraints on how that organic matter was made and how the solar system's oxygen reservoirs evolved.
Every metric behind this entry is listed, with its source, under Sources and data below.
Filed underAstro and Planetary Science, Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils, Planetary Science and Exploration