1. The Winchcombe meteorite, a unique and pristine witness from the outer solar system.
- Author
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King AJ, Daly L, Rowe J, Joy KH, Greenwood RC, Devillepoix HAR, Suttle MD, Chan QHS, Russell SS, Bates HC, Bryson JFJ, Clay PL, Vida D, Lee MR, O'Brien Á, Hallis LJ, Stephen NR, Tartèse R, Sansom EK, Towner MC, Cupak M, Shober PM, Bland PA, Findlay R, Franchi IA, Verchovsky AB, Abernethy FAJ, Grady MM, Floyd CJ, Van Ginneken M, Bridges J, Hicks LJ, Jones RH, Mitchell JT, Genge MJ, Jenkins L, Martin PE, Sephton MA, Watson JS, Salge T, Shirley KA, Curtis RJ, Warren TJ, Bowles NE, Stuart FM, Di Nicola L, Györe D, Boyce AJ, Shaw KMM, Elliott T, Steele RCJ, Povinec P, Laubenstein M, Sanderson D, Cresswell A, Jull AJT, Sýkora I, Sridhar S, Harrison RJ, Willcocks FM, Harrison CS, Hallatt D, Wozniakiewicz PJ, Burchell MJ, Alesbrook LS, Dignam A, Almeida NV, Smith CL, Clark B, Humphreys-Williams ER, Schofield PF, Cornwell LT, Spathis V, Morgan GH, Perkins MJ, Kacerek R, Campbell-Burns P, Colas F, Zanda B, Vernazza P, Bouley S, Jeanne S, Hankey M, Collins GS, Young JS, Shaw C, Horak J, Jones D, James N, Bosley S, Shuttleworth A, Dickinson P, McMullan I, Robson D, Smedley ARD, Stanley B, Bassom R, McIntyre M, Suttle AA, Fleet R, Bastiaens L, Ihász MB, McMullan S, Boazman SJ, Dickeson ZI, Grindrod PM, Pickersgill AE, Weir CJ, Suttle FM, Farrelly S, Spencer I, Naqvi S, Mayne B, Skilton D, Kirk D, Mounsey A, Mounsey SE, Mounsey S, Godfrey P, Bond L, Bond V, Wilcock C, Wilcock H, and Wilcock R
- 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.
- Published
- 2022
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