Overview
- The meteorite that produced a fireball over New York and struck a Hillsborough, New Jersey, home on July 16, 2024, has been identified as a rare CM1/2 carbonaceous chondrite recovered in unusually pristine condition.
- Scientists report the rock contains numerous amino acids and a broad mix of soluble organic compounds that are relevant to prebiotic chemistry and the early Earth’s organic inventory.
- Analyses found salt-rich fragments and sodium deposits that indicate concentrated brines once flowed through the meteorite’s parent asteroid, a pattern not previously seen in CM chondrites.
- High-quality recovery by the homeowner, plus video and Doppler radar records that traced the trajectory back to the inner asteroid belt, let researchers link composition to a likely parent region and limit terrestrial contamination.
- Teams are curating Hillsborough samples at institutions including the American Museum of Natural History and are conducting follow-up mineral and isotopic studies and comparisons with Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx returned samples to refine origin and formation processes.