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Evidence that Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Two Carbonaceous Chondrites Predate Parent-Body FormationOrganic material in meteorites provides insight into the cosmochemistry of the early solar system. The distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Allende and Murchison carbonaceous chondrites was investigated using spatially resolved microprobe laser-desorption laser-ionization mass spectrometry. Sharp chemical gradients of PAHs are associated with specific meteorite features. The ratios of various PAH intensities relative to the smallest PAH, naphthalene, are nearly constant across the sample. These findings suggest a common origin for PAHs dating prior to or contemporary with the formation of the parent body, consistent with proposed interstellar formation mechanisms.
Document ID
20040140838
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Plows, F. L.
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Elsila, J. E.
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Zare, R. N.
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Buseck, P. R.
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2003
Publication Information
Publication: Geochim. Cosmochin. Acta
Volume: 67
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-9352
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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