The Winchcombe meteorite, a unique and pristine witness from the outer solar system

Ashley J. King, Luke Daly, James Rowe, Katherine H. Joy, Richard C. Greenwood, Hadrien A.R. Devillepoix, Martin D. Suttle, Queenie H.S. Chan, Sara S. Russell, Helena C. Bates, James F.J. Bryson, Patricia L. Clay, Denis Vida, Martin R. Lee, Áine O’Brien, Lydia J. Hallis, Natasha R. Stephen, Romain Tartèse, Eleanor K. Sansom, Martin C. TownerMartin Cupak, Patrick M. Shober, Phil A. Bland, Ross Findlay, Ian A. Franchi, Alexander B. Verchovsky, Feargus A.J. Abernethy, Monica M. Grady, Cameron J. Floyd, Matthias Van Ginneken, John Bridges, Leon J. Hicks, Rhian H. Jones, Jennifer T. Mitchell, Matthew J. Genge, Laura Jenkins, Pierre Etienne Martin, Mark A. Sephton, Jonathan S. Watson, Tobias Salge, Katherine A. Shirley, Rowan J. Curtis, Tristram J. Warren, Neil E. Bowles, Finlay M. Stuart, Luigia Di Nicola, Domokos Györe, Adrian J. Boyce, Kathryn M.M. Shaw, Tim Elliott, Robert C.J. Steele, Pavel Povinec, Matthias Laubenstein, David Sanderson, Alan Cresswell, Anthony J.T. Jull, Ivan Sýkora, Sanjana Sridhar, Richard J. Harrison, Francesca M. Willcocks, Catherine S. Harrison, Daniel Hallatt, Penny J. Wozniakiewicz, Mark J. Burchell, Luke S. Alesbrook, Aishling Dignam, Natasha V. Almeida, Caroline L. Smith, Brett Clark, Emma R. Humphreys-Williams, Paul F. Schofield, Luke T. Cornwell, Vassilia Spathis, Geraint H. Morgan, Mark J. Perkins, Richard Kacerek, Peter Campbell-Burns, Francois Colas, Brigitte Zanda, Pierre Vernazza, Sylvain Bouley, Simon Jeanne, Mike Hankey, Gareth S. Collins, John S. Young, Clive Shaw, Jana Horak, Dave Jones, Nick James, Steve Bosley, Alan Shuttleworth, Paul Dickinson, Ian McMullan, Derek Robson, Andrew R.D. Smedley, Ben Stanley, Richard Bassom, Mark McIntyre, Adam A. Suttle, Richard Fleet, Luc Bastiaens, Míra B. Ihász, Sarah McMullan, Sarah J. Boazman, Zach I. Dickeson, Peter M. Grindrod, Annemarie E. Pickersgill, Colin J. Weir, Fiona M. Suttle, Sarah Farrelly, Ieun Spencer, Sheeraz Naqvi, Ben Mayne, Dan Skilton, Dan Kirk, Ann Mounsey, Sally E. Mounsey, Sarah Mounsey, Pamela Godfrey, Lachlan Bond, Victoria Bond, Cathryn Wilcock, Hannah Wilcock, Rob Wilcock

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Direct links between carbonaceous chondrites and their parent bodies in the solar system are rare. The Winchcombe meteorite is the most accurately recorded carbonaceous chondrite fall. Its pre-atmospheric orbit and cosmic-ray exposure age confirm that it arrived on Earth shortly after ejection from a primitive asteroid. Recovered only hours after falling, the composition of the Winchcombe meteorite is largely unmodified by the terrestrial environment. It contains abundant hydrated silicates formed during fluid-rock reactions, and carbon- and nitrogen-bearing organic matter including soluble protein amino acids. The near-pristine hydrogen isotopic composition of the Winchcombe meteorite is comparable to the terrestrial hydrosphere, providing further evidence that volatile-rich carbonaceous asteroids played an important role in the origin of Earth’s water.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbereabq3925
JournalScience Advances
Volume8
Issue number46
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2022

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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