title: The organic content of the Tagish Lake meteorite.
abstract: The Tagish Lake meteorite fell last year on a frozen lake in Canada and may provide the most pristine material of its kind. Analyses have now shown this carbonaceous chondrite to contain a suite of soluble organic compounds (approximately 100 parts per million) that includes mono- and dicarboxylic acids, dicarboximides, pyridine carboxylic acids, a sulfonic acid, and both aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. The insoluble carbon exhibits exclusive aromatic character, deuterium enrichment, and fullerenes containing "planetary" helium and argon. The findings provide insight into an outcome of early solar chemical evolution that differs from any seen so far in meteorites.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pizzarello
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Poreda
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Nieman
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis; D001128:Argon / Q000032:analysis; D002170:Canada; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000032:analysis; D019418:Evolution, Chemical; D006371:Helium / Q000032:analysis; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D019110:Meteoroids; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis*; D011725:Pyridines / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D006838:Hydrocarbons; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D011725:Pyridines; D006371:Helium; D001128:Argon; D002244:Carbon