Murray meteorite
| Murray | |
|---|---|
| Type | Chondrite |
| Class | Carbonaceous chondrite |
| Group | CM2 |
| Shock stage | S1 |
| Country | United States |
| Region | Kentucky |
| Coordinates | 36°36′N 88°6′W / 36.600°N 88.100°W |
| Observed fall | Yes |
| Fall date | 20 September 1950 |
| TKW | 12.6 kilograms (28 lb) |
| Strewn field | Yes |
| Alternative names | Murray County |
The Murray meteorite is a CM2-type carbonaceous chondrite[1] that exploded more than 45km above western Kentucky in the early morning of 20th September 1950.[2]
History
[edit]On 20 September 1950 at approximately 1:35 a.m. local time, near Jasper County, Illinois, an red-orange fireball was seen travelling south. About 5 seconds later, the fireball exploded with a 'blinding flash' at a height of over 45km above western Kentucky. The sound of the explosion was heard over a thousand-square-mile area. A shower of fragments fell to Earth in Calloway County, Kentucky near Wildcat Creak, Kentucky Lake 9 miles east of Murray. A search was made on 22 October 1950 by a party from Vanderbilt University but only a few small pieces were found, other pieces were found by local farmers.[2]
Classification and composition
[edit]The Murray meteorite is an CM2 carbonaceous chondrite with 58.8 matrix and 0.96% insoluble organic matter.[3] Silicon carbide grains found in the Murray meteorite had anomalous isotope ratios of silicon, carbon and nitrogen. This suggests that the grains formed before our Solar System existed, possibly in the atmospheres of red giant stars.[4]
Organic Matter
[edit]17 amino acids were found in the Murray meteorite in 1971. Only 6 of these amino acids were proteinogenic amino acids.[5] By 2001, the list of organic materials identified in the meteorite was extended to include polyols.[6][7] In 2020 NASA announced that hexamethylenetetramine had been found in the Murchison, Murray and Tagish Lake meteorites.[8][9] Purine and pyrimidine nucleobases have been detected in parts-per-billion in a 2022 study of the Murchison, Murray and Tagish Lake meteorites. Isonicotinic acid (626ppb), nicotinic acid (307ppb), 1-Methyl-1H-imidazole-5-carboxylic acid (a thymine isomer, 100ppb) and 4-Imidazole carboxylic acid (a uracil isomer, 99ppb) were the most abundant N-heterocycles found in the Murray sample.[10][11]
External links
[edit]Murray meteorite at the Astrophysics Data System
References
[edit]- ^ "Meteoritical Bulletin Database: Murray".
- ^ a b Horan, John R. (1953). "The Murray, Calloway County, Kentucky, Aerolite (Cn =+0881,366)". Meteoritics. 1: 114–121. Bibcode:1953Metic...1..114H. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1953.tb01322.x. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
- ^ Alexander, C.M.O'D.; Fogel, M.; Yabuta, H.; Cody, G.D. (2007). "The origin and evolution of chondrites recorded in the elemental and isotopic compositions of their macromolecular organic matter". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 71 (17): 4380–4403. Bibcode:2007GeCoA..71.4380A. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2007.06.052. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
- ^ Bernatowicz, Thomas; Fraundorf, Gail; Tang, Ming; Anders, Edward; Wopenka, Brigitte; Zinner, Ernst; Fraundorf, Phil (1987). "Evidence for interstellar SiC in the Murray carbonaceous meteorite". Nature. 330 (6150): 728–730. Bibcode:1987Natur.330..728B. doi:10.1038/330728a0. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
- ^ Lawless, James G.; Kvenvolden, Keith A.; Peterson, Etta; Ponnaperuma, Cyril; Moore, Carleton (1971). "Amino Acids Indigenous to the Murray Meteorite". Science. 173 (3997): 626–627. Bibcode:1971Sci...173..626L. doi:10.1126/science.173.3997.626. PMID 17833108.
- ^ Savage, Donald; Burton, Kathleen (19 December 2001). "NASA Scientist Finds Some Meteorites Not Sugar-Free". NASA. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ Cooper, George; Kimmich, Novelle; Belisle, Warren; Sarinana, Josh; Brabham, Katrina; Garrel, Laurence (20 December 2001). "Carbonaceous meteorites as a source of sugar-related organic compounds for the early Earth". Nature. 414 (6866): 879–883. Bibcode:2001Natur.414..879C. doi:10.1038/414879a. PMID 11780054. S2CID 199294. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ Steigerwald, William (18 December 2020). "Key Building Block for Organic Molecules Discovered in Meteorites". NASA. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Oba, Yasuhiro; Takano, Yoshinori; Naraoka, Hiroshi; Furukawa, Yoshihiro; Glavin, Daniel P.; Dworkin, Jason P.; Tachibana, Shogo (2020). "Extraterrestrial hexamethylenetetramine in meteorites—a precursor of prebiotic chemistry in the inner solar system". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 6243. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.6243O. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-20038-x. PMC 7721876. PMID 33288754.
- ^ "Australian meteorite one of three with key building blocks for life's 'prebiotic soup'". ABC News. 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
- ^ Oba, Yasuhiro; Takano, Yoshinori; Furukawa, Yoshihiro; Koga, Toshiki; Glavin, Daniel P.; Dworkin, Jason P.; Naraoka, Hiroshi (2022). "Identifying the wide diversity of extraterrestrial purine and pyrimidine nucleobases in carbonaceous meteorites". Nature Communications. 13: 2008. Bibcode:2022NatCo..13.2008O. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-29612-x. PMC 9042847. PMID 35473908.