Hollow organic globules in the Tagish Lake meteorite as possible products of primitive organic reactions

EAS Publications Series

2012

Abstract. The most primitive chondrites and comets have undergone few modifications during the 4.56 billion years of the Solar System and can deliver to laboratories the components that witnessed the origin of the protosolar nebula. These components include organics, water and other volatile components that were formed in the parent molecular cloud of the solar system or during the protosolar epoch. This paper focuses on organic matter, water and noble gases contained in carbonaceous chondrites with a special emphasis on opened questions that could be assessed by laboratory experiments in order to shed new light on the origin of the solar system materials and planets.

Section: How Did the Organics In Carbonacenous Chondrites Form?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic material and gases in the early Solar System : the meteorite record

EAS Publications Series

2012

“…They can occur as isolated grains, coalesced spheres or clusters [99]. Their sizes range from 20 up to 1700 nm, with a typical void in the centre not attributed to the chemical treatment used to isolate the IOM; the size of the internal void is variable, so is the wall thickness [98][99][100]. In some cases, there is no central cavity; the globules then appear as solid nanospheres [99,100].…”

Section: Physical Texture At the Nanometer Scale: Hrtem Imagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their sizes range from 20 up to 1700 nm, with a typical void in the centre not attributed to the chemical treatment used to isolate the IOM; the size of the internal void is variable, so is the wall thickness [98][99][100]. In some cases, there is no central cavity; the globules then appear as solid nanospheres [99,100]. Though the wall is composed of several layers, the carbonaceous component is amorphous as revealed by Raman spectrometry [100].…”

Section: Physical Texture At the Nanometer Scale: Hrtem Imagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some cases, there is no central cavity; the globules then appear as solid nanospheres [99,100]. Though the wall is composed of several layers, the carbonaceous component is amorphous as revealed by Raman spectrometry [100]. Chemical composition, determined by EELS (Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy), shows minor variation among meteorites, but particle to particle differences are significant [98].…”

Section: Physical Texture At the Nanometer Scale: Hrtem Imagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Organic and volatile elements in the solar system

2011

EPJ Web of Conferences

Abstract. Chondrites and comets have accreted primitive materials from the early solar system. Those materials include organics, water and other volatile components. The most primitive chondrites and comets have undergone few modifications on their respective parent bodies and can deliver to laboratories components that were present at the origin of the protosolar nebula. Here I present a review of the organic material and volatile components that have been studied in the most primitive chondrites, and the last data from the stardust mission about the cometary record. This paper focuses on materials that can be studied in laboratories, by mass spectrometry, ion probes or organic chemistry techniques.

“…This is confirmed by fluorescence microscopy [6], which shows that organic matter occurs as circular particles, evenly distributed in the matrix of hydrated chondrites and with a diameter around a couple of microns. Organic matter has also been observed to form nanoglobules [7,8]; analogues were produced during laboratory experiment intending to reproduce ejecta gas from evolved stars [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic material in meteorites and the link to the origin of life

2014

BIO Web of Conferences

Abstract. Life requires specific conditions that have been, so far, only proven to meet on Earth. Though the chemical elements required to form living organism (C, H, N, O, S, etc) are widespread in the universe, the molecules that are crucial for Life, like nucleobases or amino acids, may not be so ubiquitous. The question of the formation of small and complex molecules is highly relevant to understand the process of Life origin. Carbonaceous chondrites are a class of meteorites rich in organic compounds and host potential precursors for the emergence of Life (organic matter and water). They could have been the source of complex molecules on the early Earth. This contribution will describe the main properties of the organic matter recovered from carbonaceous chondrites. However, the isotopic and molecular record of organic compounds is faded by secondary processes that occurred on the parent body of these meteorites. This results in complex signatures that raise multiple questions about the origin of organic compounds in the Solar System.