[meteorite-list] organics in Muchison.....

From: Greg Catterton <star_wars_collector_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:01:49 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <476293.75160.qm_at_web46410.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>

I have to agree, this has been an awesome discussion.
Murchison is one of my favorite samples in my collection.
When information comes out like this, it always adds something even more special to it.

Not an ad for me but, if anyone following this does not currently have a sample, Gary has some really nice samples at very good prices on ebay:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZfujmonQQhtZ-1

Its a must have for collectors, and this recent news just goes to show that the study of this is ongoing.

Any other links to information on this meteorite would be great!

Greg Catterton
www.wanderingstarmeteorites.com
IMCA member 4682
On Ebay: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/wanderingstarmeteorites


--- On Tue, 2/16/10, Matthias B?rmann <majbaermann at web.de> wrote:

> From: Matthias B?rmann <majbaermann at web.de>
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] organics in Muchison.....
> To: Zelimir.Gabelica at uha.fr, meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 4:39 PM
> Hello Zelimir & Murchisionados,
>
> highly interesting indeed: thanks so much for informing us
> about your and your colleagues scientific work and giving us
> so the feeling of being privileged enough to sit in the very
> first row.
>
> If I understand your approach correct, your non-targeted
> focus of investigation leads directly to a highly diverse
> pattern.
>
> The last sentence of the abstract reads: "This molecular
> complexity, which provides hints on heteroatoms
> chronological assembly, suggests that the extraterrestrial
> chemodiversity is high compared to terrestrial relevant
> biological- and biogeochemical-driven chemical space." The
> high level of extraterrestrial chemodiversity vs. the less
> diverse terrestrial "chemical space" - could that mean that
> development of life could depend on a kind of reduction of
> diversity? Caused by selection (= "targetting"?)? Life would
> be essentially linked to a process of picking up elements
> out of the construction kit? But than it begins to play by
> combining them? Wouldn't that point to the necessity to make
> a strong distinction between diversity and complexity? Could
> that mean that the complexity of terrestrial biological and
> biochemical "space" is a result of reduction of (initial)
> diversity?
>
> Perhaps six (crazy) questions too much from a non-natural
> scientist ...
>
> Best regards,
>
> Matthias B.
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: <Zelimir.Gabelica at uha.fr>
> To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 9:58 PM
> Subject: [meteorite-list] organics in Muchison.....
>
>
>
> Darren, list,
>
>
> The media info Darren is speaking about refers to the
> research we (a
> group of scientists) are being conducting since several
> months on
> Murchison, namely a non targeted analysis of its
> extraterrestrial
> organic contents.
>
> In a post I sent by end of last September, I had notified
> the list of
> that work by just mentioning the keywords "Murchison" and
> "organic
> contant".
>
> The paper, that was submitted for publication in due time
> (right in
> time for the 40th anniversary of Murchison fall), was just
> anounced
> released out of press a couple of hours ago.
>
> Here is the reference: PNAS, 107 (7), 2763 -2768 (2010).
>
> Abstract can be read here:
>
> http://www.pnas.org/content/107/7/2763
>
>
> More discussions are available through various media press
> comments
> (easily found by Googling with keys: "Murchison, Phillippe
> Schmitt-Kopplin").
>
> May I just insist that the incredible number of molecules
> we had found
> originated from the fact that the screening was not
> targeted.
>
> Also we never claimed that any of the hundreds of thousands
> of
> molecules we detected had a pre-biotic origin, something
> that seems to
> provoke debate in the media.
> Our work just shows there's no shortage of molecules on
> meteorites in
> general, and in Murchison, taken as reference in
> particular, that
> origin-of-life researchers could investigate...
>
> Those familtar with Ensisheim shows might remember that
> Philippe
> (Phil) was our new enthroned Ensisheim meteorite guardian
> in 2008.
>
> Phil is the head of the lab in Neuherberg (Munich) where
> all the
> measurements (combined FTICR-MS,NMR & GC) were run.
> We all, co-authors, are deeply indebted to him for his
> discern and
> faith in initiating that challenging research and for his
> expertise
> that caused its success beyond any of our initial
> expectations.
>
> So far we have recorded tons of other data on "many more"
> other
> meteorites. More exciting and weird results are coming
> continuously;
> thay will be published in the months to come.
>
> My best wishes,
>
> Zelimir
>
>
> Shawn Alan <photophlow at yahoo.com>
> a ??crit? :
>
> > Darren and List
> >
> > Thank you for the read up on Murchison meteorite on
> how scientist? have identified over 14,000 compounds
> and counting. While we are on? the topic of Murchison
> meteorite, I came across an article on line? that
> points out these interesting facts and finds on the
> Murchison? as quoted from the article as follows....
> > "Presolar grains are the oldest materials in the solar
> system," says Philipp Heck of the University of Chicago.
> > "The ages of the grains clearly indicate that they are
> older than? the solar system."
> > But just how old?
> > Heck and his colleagues isolated 22 grains from the
> Murchison? meteorite, which is well-known for the
> > organic material it contains, and measured how long
> the grains spent? in interstellar space before winding
> up
> > in our nascent solar system. The implied grain ages,
> reported in a? recent paper of the Astrophysical
> Journal,
> > appear to support a hypothesis that our solar system
> formed after a smaller satellite galaxy crashed into the
> > Milky Way around 6 billion years ago."......
> >
> > "From the isotope abundances, the researchers estimate
> that the? majority of grains spent between 3
> > and 200 million years in interstellar space before
> falling into our molecular cloud some 4.6 billion
> > years ago."
> >
> >
> > Here is the link to the article I found on line.
> > http://www.astrobio.net/pdffiles/news_3202.pdf
> >
> > and if your up for a read, here is an article on the
> age of presolar? SiC grains found in Murchison
> meteorite.
> >
> > http://presolar.wustl.edu/ref/Gyngard09b.pdf
> >
> > Enjoy
> > Shawn Alan
> >
> >
> >
> > [meteorite-list] Murchison-- chock full o' stuffDarren
> Garrison? cynapse at charter.net
> > Tue Feb 16 00:25:30 EST 2010
> >
> >
> > Previous message: [meteorite-list] West Texas
> Meteorite Hunt -? February 15, 2009
> > Next message: [meteorite-list] West Texas Meteorite
> Hunt - February 15, 2009
> > Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [
> author ]
> >
> > http://news.discovery.com/space/meteorite-crammed-with-millions-of-organic-compounds.html
> >
> > Meteorite Crammed with 'Millions' of Organic
> Compounds
> >
> > By Ian O'Neill | Mon Feb 15, 2010 04:52 PM ET
> >
> > A meteorite that hit the town of Murchison, Australia,
> hasn't quit? giving up its
> > secrets.
> >
> > The Murchison meteorite is one of the most studied
> space rocks because many
> > pieces were recovered after it was seen breaking up as
> it fell through the
> > atmosphere in 1969. Approximately 100 kg of the
> carbonaceous chondrite was
> > recovered.
> >
> > Carbonaceous chondrites are extremely important to
> scientists as they were
> > formed from material that existed in the solar
> system's? planet-forming disk of
> > gas and dust. They are, quite literally, time capsules
> holding onto? a 4 billion
> > year old record of the birth of our solar system.
> >
> > In this case, the Murchison meteorite has given us
> another clue as to the
> > abundance of organic chemicals that existed before the
> Earth had formed. In
> > fact, this particular meteorite may have originated
> from material? older than our
> > sun.
> >
> > "We are really excited. When I first studied it and
> saw the? complexity I was so
> > amazed," said Dr Phillipe Schmitt-Kopplin, of the
> Institute for Ecological
> > Chemistry in Neuherberg, Germany.
> >
> > "Meteorites are like some kind of fossil. When you try
> to understand them you
> > are looking back in time."
> >
> > This new research made use of high resolution
> spectroscopic tools to identify
> > the various compounds inside. Although this meteorite
> has provided scientists
> > with vast amounts of information about specific
> carbon-based organics before,
> > this was the first non-targeted study. In other words,
> the? researchers weren't
> > tracking down just one type of chemical, they did a
> broad analysis? for all the
> > chemicals it might contain.
> >
> > And what they found came as a shock, it appears that
> the primordial? solar system
> > probably had a higher chemical diversity than
> present-day Earth.
> >
> > In this study, 14,000 specific compounds including 70
> amino acids were
> > identified. But this number appears to be the tip of
> the iceberg;? the meteorite
> > probably contains millions of different organic
> compounds. More detailed
> > analysis will now be carried out.
> >
> > But why is this important? To understand the diversity
> of organic chemicals that
> > were floating around a primordial solar system will
> help us? understand how life
> > may have appeared on Earth. This particular chunk of
> carbonaceous chondrite
> > drifted through the gas and dust of the early solar
> system,? collecting all the
> > basic organic chemistry from around that time, does
> that mean diverse organic
> > chemistry is the "norm" for proto-planetary star
> systems?
> >
> > These organic compounds are known to exist on comets,
> asteroids and other
> > planetary bodies, so what makes Earth the hothouse of
> life when everywhere else
> > seems to be lifeless?
> >
> > If organic chemistry is ubiquitous, perhaps planning
> to "seed" young star
> > systems with Earth-based life isn't such a good idea.
> The conditions for life
> > may not be that rare after all.
> >
> > ______________________________________________
> > Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> > Meteorite-list mailing list
> > Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
> >
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________
> Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
> ______________________________________________
> Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>


      
Received on Tue 16 Feb 2010 06:01:49 PM PST