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

Ashley King (1) , Luke Daly , James Rowe , Katherine Joy , Richard Greenwood , Hadrien A. R. Devillepoix , Martin Suttle , Queenie H. S. Chan , Sara Russell , Helena Bates , James F. J. Bryson , Patricia Clay , Denis Vida , Martin Lee , Áine O’brien , Lydia Hallis , Natasha Stephen , Romain Tartèse , Eleanor Sansom , Martin Towner , Martin Cupak , Patrick Shober , Phil Bland , Ross Findlay , Ian Franchi , Alexander Verchovsky , Feargus A. J. Abernethy , Monica Grady , Cameron Floyd , Matthias van Ginneken , John Bridges , Leon Hicks , Rhian Jones , Jennifer Mitchell , Matthew Genge , Laura Jenkins , Pierre-Etienne Martin , Mark Sephton , Jonathan Watson , Tobias Salge , Katherine Shirley , Rowan Curtis , Tristram Warren , Neil Bowles , Finlay Stuart , Luigia Di Nicola , Domokos Györe , Adrian 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 Harrison , Francesca Willcocks , Catherine Harrison , Daniel Hallatt , Penny Wozniakiewicz , Mark Burchell , Luke Alesbrook , Aishling Dignam , Natasha Almeida , Caroline Smith , Brett Clark , Emma Humphreys-Williams , Paul Schofield , Luke Cornwell , Vassilia Spathis , Geraint Morgan , Mark Perkins , Richard Kacerek , Peter Campbell-Burns , Francois Colas , Brigitte Zanda , Pierre Vernazza (2, 3) , Sylvain Bouley , Simon Jeanne , Mike Hankey , Gareth Collins , John 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 Suttle , Richard Fleet , Luc Bastiaens , Míra Ihász , Sarah Mcmullan , Sarah Boazman , Zach Dickeson , Peter Grindrod , Annemarie Pickersgill , Colin Weir , Fiona Suttle , Sarah Farrelly , Ieun Spencer , Sheeraz Naqvi , Ben Mayne , Dan Skilton , Dan Kirk , Ann Mounsey , Sally Mounsey , Sarah Mounsey , Pamela Godfrey , Lachlan Bond , Victoria Bond , Cathryn Wilcock , Hannah Wilcock , Rob Wilcock

1 GEOPS - Géosciences Paris Saclay
2 AMU - Aix Marseille Université
3 LAM - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille

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.

Domaines: Planète et Univers [physics]

Ashley King, Luke Daly, James Rowe, Katherine Joy, Richard Greenwood, et al.. The Winchcombe meteorite, a unique and pristine witness from the outer solar system. Science Advances , 2022, 8 (46), ⟨10.1126/sciadv.abq3925⟩. ⟨hal-04259418⟩