Incredibly, this exceptionally bright and slow-moving meteor landed on a frozen lake, and meteorite hunters immediately moved to recover whatever fragments they could.
They got more than they bargained for — rather than disparate fragments, they managed to recover a pristine chunk of the space rock. The collected meteorite offers scientists a rare glimpse of what, exactly, these rocks are made of.
What they found has serious implications for our understanding of how life began on Earth.
In a new study published Tuesday in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science, a team of scientists detail their analysis of the fireball meteorite — and the organic compounds found within it. These organic compounds are considered to be among the key ingredients for life.
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