Many might recall the Tagish Lake meteorite which fell in Canada in January 2000. Well a recent analysis has provided some interesting findings.
What is useful about the meteorite is that several pieces have never been above freezing. This has kept the more volitile contituents from evaporating. Robert Hilts of Grant MavEwan College in Edmonton, Canada, using a new technique, has found high levels of formic acid in the meteorite. Those who recall the movie "Them" know all about formic acid! They also found acetic acid and capric acid. Formic acid concentrations were 200 ppm and the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen shows it has an extraterrestrial origin. Formic acid is a precursor to the chemicals that make up cell membranes.
The Carbon content of the meteorite was about 6%, the highest ever recorded.
This from an article in Science News, I'll try and track down more info.
Usually you have to be a subscriber, but it appears the article is online:
http://www.sciencenews.org/index/generi ... _meteorite
What is useful about the meteorite is that several pieces have never been above freezing. This has kept the more volitile contituents from evaporating. Robert Hilts of Grant MavEwan College in Edmonton, Canada, using a new technique, has found high levels of formic acid in the meteorite. Those who recall the movie "Them" know all about formic acid! They also found acetic acid and capric acid. Formic acid concentrations were 200 ppm and the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen shows it has an extraterrestrial origin. Formic acid is a precursor to the chemicals that make up cell membranes.
The Carbon content of the meteorite was about 6%, the highest ever recorded.
This from an article in Science News, I'll try and track down more info.
Usually you have to be a subscriber, but it appears the article is online:
http://www.sciencenews.org/index/generi ... _meteorite
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