” Winchcombe belongs to an uncommon type of carbonaceous meteorite which usually consists of a rich inventory of natural compounds and water. The very first Winchcombe meteorite stone was recovered within 12 hours of the fireball observation event and effectively curated to limit any terrestrial contamination. This permitted us to study the natural signature truly vital to the meteorite itself.
The amino acid abundance of Winchcombe is 10 times lower than other types of carbonaceous chondritic meteorites and was an obstacle to study due to the minimal detection of amino acids, but with the meteorite so immediately recuperated and curated, the team had the ability to study the organic material of the meteorite prior to its interaction with the Earths environment. The natural matter suggests the meteorite could represent a class of unique, weak meteorite not formerly studied.
Dr. Queenie Chan, at Royal Holloway, University of London, said: “Meteorite fall happens all year round, nevertheless, what makes this meteorite fall so special is that this is the very first meteorite to have actually been observed by many eyewitnesses, recorded, and recovered in the UK in the last 30 years.
” Winchcombe belongs to an uncommon kind of carbonaceous meteorite which typically consists of an abundant inventory of natural compounds and water. The very first Winchcombe meteorite stone was recovered within 12 hours of the fireball observation event and appropriately curated to restrict any terrestrial contamination. This allowed us to study the organic signature really important to the meteorite itself.
” Studying the organic stock of the Winchcombe meteorite offered us with a window into the past, how easy chemistry kick-started the origin of life at the birth of our planetary system. Finding these lifes precursor natural molecules permitted us to understand the fall of comparable product to the surface area of the Earth, prior to the development of life on our own planet.
” It was an honor to be leading the group on the organic analysis of the first-ever successful carbonaceous meteorite healing in the United Kingdom. It was a pleasure and an amazing journey to be dealing with extremely skilled and enthusiastic researchers across the country.”
Reference: “The amino acid and polycyclic fragrant hydrocarbon structures of the promptly recuperated CM2 Winchcombe carbonaceous chondrite” by Queenie H. S. Chan, Jonathan S. Watson, Mark A. Sephton, Áine C. OBrien and Lydia J. Hallis, 9 January 2023, Meteoritics & & Planetary Science.DOI: 10.1111/ maps.13936.
The larger research of the natural analysis of the Winchcombe meteorite in this research study included partnerships with Imperial College London and the University of Glasgow.
Dr. Queenie Chan. Credit: Royal Holloway, University of London
New research study has been published on the organic analysis of the Winchcombe meteorite which crashed landed onto a driveway in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England in 2021. The research study, led by Dr. Queenie Chan, from the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London, discovered natural substances from space which holds the secrets to the origin of life.
In the study, the analysis found a series of natural matter which exposes that the meteorite was as soon as from part of an asteroid where liquid water took place, and if it that asteroid had been admitted to the water, a chain reaction could have occurred leading to more particles becoming amino acids and protein– the foundation of life.
The Winchcombe meteorite is an uncommon carbon-rich chondritic meteorite (approximately four percent of all recovered meteorites, containing as much as 3.5 weight percent of carbon) and is the first-ever meteorite of this type to be discovered in the UK with an observed meteorite fall event, with more than 1,000 eyewitnesses and various footages of the fireball.