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At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Fullerenes in an impact crater on the LDEF spacecraft.

The fullerenes C60 and C70 have been found to occur naturally on Earth and have also been invoked to explain features in the absorption spectra of interstellar clouds. But no definitive spectroscopic evidence exists for fullerenes in space and attempts to find fullerenes in carbonaceous chondrites have been unsuccessful. Here we report the observation of fullerenes associated with carbonaceous impact residue in a crater on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) spacecraft. Laser ionization mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy indicate the presence of fullerenes in the crater and in adjacent ejecta. Man-made fullerenes survive experimental hypervelocity (approximately 6.1 km s-1) impacts into aluminium targets, suggesting that space fullerenes contained in a carbonaceous micrometeorite could have survived the LDEF impact at velocities towards the lower end of the natural particle encounter range (<13 km s-1). We also demonstrate that the fullerenes were unlikely to have formed as instrumental artefacts, nor are they present as contaminants. Although we cannot specify the origin of the fullerenes with certainty, the most plausible source is the chondritic impactor. If, alternatively, the impact produced the fullerenes in situ on LDEF, then this suggests a viable mechanism for fullerene production in space.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1995

A plausibly prebiotic synthesis of phosphonic acids.

The insolubility of calcium phosphate in water is a significant stumbling block in the chemistry required for the origin of life. The discovery of alkyl phosphonic acids in the Murchison meteorite suggests the possibility of delivery of these water-soluble, phosphorus-containing molecules by meteorites or comets to the early Earth. This could have provided a supply of organic phosphorus for the earliest stages of chemical evolution; although probably not components of early genetic systems, phosphonic acids may have been precursors to the first nucleic acids. Here we report the synthesis of several phosphonic acids, including the most abundant found in the Murchison meteorite, by ultraviolet irradiation of orthophosphorous acid in the presence of formaldehyde, primary alcohols, or acetone. We argue that similar reactions might explain the presence of phosphonic acids in Murchison, and could also have occurred on the prebiotic Earth.

Chromatography, Gas↗
PubMed1996

Early aqueous activity on primitive meteorite parent bodies.

The interstellar material from which the solar system formed has been modified by many processes: evaporation and condensation in the solar nebula, accretion into protoplanetary bodies and post-accretion processes within these bodies. Meteorites provide a record of these events and their chronology. Carbonaceous CI chondrites are among the most primitive, undifferentiated meteorites, but nevertheless show evidence of post-accretion alteration; they contain carbonates that are believed to have formed by reactions between anhydrous CI precursor materials and circulating fluids in the meteorite parent body (or bodies), yet little is known about the nature of these reactions or the timescale on which they occurred. Here we report measurements of excess 53Cr--formed by the decay of short-lived 53Mn--in five carbonate fragments from the CI chondrites Orgueil and Ivuna. Our results show that aqueous alteration on small protoplanetary bodies must have begun less than 20 Myr after the time of formation of the oldest known solar-nebula condensates (Allende refractory inclusions). This upper limit is much shorter than that of 50 Myr inferred from previous studies, and clearly establishes aqueous alteration as one of the earliest processes in the chemical evolution of the solar system.

Carbonates↗
PubMed1996

Substantial outgassing of CO from comet Hale-Bopp at large heliocentric distance.

When comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Boop) was discovered, at a distance of seven astronomical units from the sun, it was more than one hundred times brighter than comet Halley at the same distance. A comet's brightness is derived from the reflection of sunlight from dust grains driven away from the nucleus by the sublimation of volatile ices. Near the sun, sublimation of water ice (a main constituent of comet nuclei) is the source of cometary activity; but at its current heliocentric distance, Hale-Boop is too cold for this process to operate. Other comets have shown activity at large distances, and in the case of comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, carbon monoxide has been detected in quantities sufficient to generate its observed coma. Here we report the detection of CO emission from Hale-Boop, at levels indicating a very large rate of outgassing. Several other volatile species were searched for, but not detected. Sublimation of CO therefore appears to be responsible for the present activity of this comet, and we anticipate that future observations will reveal the onset of sublimation of other volatile species as the comet continues its present journey towards the sun.

Carbon Monoxide↗
PubMed1996

A possible high-temperature origin for the carbonates in the martian meteorite ALH84001.

The meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001, commonly accepted to be of martian origin, is unique among known martian meteorites in containing abundant, zoned, pre-terrestrial carbonate minerals. Previous studies of the oxygen isotope compositions of these minerals have suggested that they precipitated from a low-temperature (0-80 degrees C) aqueous fluid in the martian crust--perhaps in a near-surface hydrothermal system. Here we report analyses of the major-element compositions of the carbonates, which provide an independent constraint on the composition and temperature of the fluid from which they formed. We argue that the most likely explanation for the observed compositions, and for the absence of co-existing hydrons minerals, is that the carbonates were formed by reactions between hot (> 650 degrees C), CO2-rich fluids and the ultramatic host rock during an impact event. Impact processes on the martian surface can produce both the hot, CO2-rich fluid (by volatilization of surface carbonates or other CO2 sources) and--by brecciation--the condults through which it flowed. Impact metasomatism is also consistent with the observed oxygen isotope disequillbrium, sequence of mineral formation, and carbonate mineral zoning, reflecting carbonate formation during rapid cooling from high temperatures rather than prolonged exposure to low-temperature fluids.

Carbon Dioxide↗
PubMed1996

Life beyond mars.

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Carbonates↗
PubMed1996

Spectroscopic evidence for interstellar ices in comet Hyakutake.

Volatile compounds in comets are the most pristine materials surviving from the time of formation of the Solar System, and thus potentially provide information about conditions that prevailed in the primitive solar nebula. Moreover, comets may have supplied a substantial fraction of the volatiles on the terrestrial planets, perhaps including organic compounds that played a role in the origin of life on Earth. Here we report the detection of hydrogen isocyanide (HNC) in comet Hyakutake. The abundance of HNC relative to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is very similar to that observed in quiescent interstellar molecular clouds, and quite different from the equilibrium ratio expected in the outermost solar nebula, where comets are thought to form. Such a departure from equilibrium has long been considered a hallmark of gas-phase chemical processing in the interstellar medium, suggesting that interstellar gases have been incorporated into the comet's nucleus, perhaps as ices frozen onto interstellar grains. If this interpretation is correct, our results should provide constraints on the temperature of the solar nebula, and the subsequent chemical processes that occurred in the region where comets formed.

Extraterrestrial Environment↗
PubMed1996

Detection of acetylene in the infrared spectrum of comet Hyakutake.

Comets are rich in volatile materials, of which roughly 80% (by number) are water molecules. Considerable progress is being made in identifying the other volatile species, the abundances of which should enable us to determine whether comets formed primarily from ice-covered interstellar grains, or from material that was chemically processed in the early solar nebula. Here we report the detection of acetylene (C2H2) in the infrared spectrum of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake). The estimated abundance is 0.3-0.9%, relative to water, which is comparable to the predicted solid-phase abundance in cold interstellar clouds. This suggests that the volatiles in comet Hyakotake may have come from ice-covered interstellar grains, rather than material processed in the accretion disk out of which the Solar System formed.

Acetylene↗