Coordinates: 36°37′S 145°12′E

Murchison meteorite
The Murchison meteorite is a large meteorite that fell to earth
Murchison
near Murchison, Victoria, in Australia, in 1969. It is one of the
most studied meteorites due to its mass (>100 kg (220 lb)), the
fact that it was an observed fall, and that it belongs to a group
of meteorites rich in organic compounds.

In January 2020, astronomers reported that the oldest material

on Earth found so far are Murchison meteorite particles that
have been determined to be 7 billion years old, billions of years
older than the 4.54 billion years age of the Earth and the solar
system itself.

Contents A Murchison meteorite specimen at

the National Museum of Natural
History
History (Washington)
Classification and composition
Type Chondrite
Organic compounds
Nucleobases Class Carbonaceous
chondrite
See also
Group CM2
References
Composition 22.13% total iron, 12%
External links water
Shock stage S1-2

History Country Australia

Region Victoria
On 28 September 1969 at about 10:58 am local time, near
Murchison, Victoria, in Australia, a bright fireball was observed Coordinates 36°37′S 145°12′E[1]
to separate into three fragments before disappearing,[1] leaving Observed Yes
a cloud of smoke. About 30 seconds later, a tremor was heard. fall
Many fragments were found over an area larger than 13 square Fall date 28 September 1969
kilometres (5.0 sq mi), with individual mass up to 7 kilograms
TKW 100 kg (220 lb)
(15 lb); one, weighing 680 grams (1.5 lb), broke through a roof
and fell in hay.[1] The total collected mass of the meteorite
exceeds 100 kilograms (220 lb).[2]

Classification and composition

The meteorite belongs to the CM group of carbonaceous
chondrites (see meteorite classification). Like most CM
chondrites, Murchison is petrologic type 2, which means that it
experienced extensive alteration by water-rich fluids on its
parent body[3] before falling to Earth. CM chondrites, together Pair of grains from the Murchison
with the CI group, are rich in carbon and are among the most meteorite
chemically primitive meteorites.[4] Like other CM chondrites, Related media on Wikimedia
Murchison contains abundant CAIs. Over 15 amino acids, some Commons
of the basic components of life, have been identified in the
meteorite[5] by multiple studies.

In January 2020, astronomers reported that Murchison meteorite particles have been determined to be 7
billion years old, billions of years older than the 4.54 billion years age of the Earth itself, and the oldest
material on Earth found so far.[6][7]

Organic compounds
Murchison contains common amino acids such as glycine,
alanine and glutamic acid as well as unusual ones like isovaline
and pseudoleucine.[8] A complex mixture of alkanes was isolated
as well, similar to that found in the Miller–Urey experiment.
Serine and threonine, usually considered to be earthly
contaminants, were conspicuously absent in the samples. A
specific family of amino acids called diamino acids was
identified in the Murchison meteorite as well.[9]
Fragment of the Murchison meteorite
The initial report stated that the amino acids were racemic and (at right) and isolated individual
particles (shown in the test tube).
therefore formed in an abiotic manner because amino acids of
terrestrial proteins are all of the L-configuration. Later the amino
acid alanine, which is also a protein amino acid, was found to have an excess of the L-configuration,[10]
which led several to suspect terrestrial contamination according to the argument that it would be "unusual
for an abiotic stereoselective decomposition or synthesis of amino acids to occur with protein amino
acids but not with non-protein amino acids."[11] In 1997, L-excesses were also found in a non-protein
amino acid, isovaline,[12] suggesting an extraterrestrial source for molecular asymmetry in the Solar
System. At the same time, L-excesses of alanine were again found in Murchison but now with
enrichment in the isotope 15N,[13] however, the isotopic pairing was later contested on analytical
grounds.[14] The list of organic materials identified in the meteorite was extended to polyols by 2001.[15]

Although the meteorite contained a mixture of left-handed and right-handed amino acids, most amino
acids used by living organisms are left-handed in chirality, and most sugars used are right-handed. A
team of chemists in Sweden demonstrated in 2005 that this homochirality could have been triggered or
catalyzed, by the action of a left-handed amino acid such as proline.[17]

Several lines of evidence indicate that the interior portions of well-preserved fragments from Murchison
are pristine. A 2010 study using high resolution analytical tools including spectroscopy, identified 14,000
molecular compounds including 70 amino acids in a sample of the meteorite.[18][19] The limited scope of
the analysis by mass spectrometry provides for a potential 50,000 or more unique molecular
compositions, with the team estimating the possibility of millions of distinct organic compounds in the
meteorite.[20]

Nucleobases
Measured purine and pyrimidine compounds were found
in the Murchison meteorite. Carbon isotope ratios for Compound class[16] Concentration (ppm)
uracil and xanthine of δ13C = +44.5 ‰ and +37.7 ‰ , Amino acids 17–60
respectively, indicate a non-terrestrial origin for these Aliphatic hydrocarbons >35
compounds. This specimen demonstrates that many
Aromatic hydrocarbons 3319
organic compounds could have been delivered by early
Solar System bodies and may have played a key role in Fullerenes >100
life's origin.[21] Carboxylic acids >300
Hydrocarboxylic acids 15
See also Purines and pyrimidines 1.3
Alcohols 11
Cosmochemistry
Glossary of meteoritics Sulphonic acids 68
Phosphonic acids 2

References
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nce/2019-10-02/murchison-meteorite-50th-anniversary-1969-science-geology/11528644)
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External links
Rosenthal, Anne M. (12 February 2003). "Murchison's Amino Acids: Tainted Evidence?" (htt
p://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=375).
Astrobiology Magazine.
Matson, John (15 February 2010). "Meteorite That Fell in 1969 Still Revealing Secrets of the
Early Solar System" (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=murchison-
meteorite). Scientific American.
This article incorporates public domain material (http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/policies.html#Guidelines)
from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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