Carbonaceous chondrites are a type of organic-rich meteorite that contain samples of the materials that took part in the creation of our planets nearly 4.6 billion years ago, including materials that were likely formed before our solar system was created, and may have been crucial to the formation of life on Earth.
The complex suite of organic materials found in carbonaceous chondrites can vary substantially from meteorite to meteorite. New research from Carnegie's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism and Geophysical Laboratory, published June 10 in Science, shows that most of these variations are the result of hydrothermal activity that took place within a few million years of the formation of the Solar System, when the meteorites were still part of larger parent bodies, likely asteroids.
The press release from the Carnegie Institution for Science is here.
