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Carbonaceous Material in Extra-terrestrial Matter
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 October 2016
Abstract
Comets, asteroids, meteorites, micrometeorites, interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), and ultra-carbonaceous Antarctic micrometeorites (UCAMMs) may contain carbonaceous material, which was exogenously delivered to the early Earth. Carbonaceous chondrites have an enormous variety of extra-terrestrial compounds, including all the key compounds important in terrestrial biochemistry. Comets contain several carbon-rich species and, in addition, the hypervelocity impact-shock of a comet can produce several α-amino acids. The analysis of the carbonaceous content of extra-terrestrial matter provides a window into the resources delivered to the early Earth, which may have been used by the first living organisms.
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- Information
- Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 11 , General Assembly A29A: Astronomy in Focus , August 2015 , pp. 257 - 260
- Copyright
- Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2016