YUKON METEORITE MAY PROVIDE “NEW WINDOW INTO THE UNIVERSE”



March 16, 2000



Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1547)



Ann Hutchison
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 281/483-5111)



Jean-Claude Paradis
Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON
(Phone: 613/992-9426)

<h4>Release: H00-41</h4> <h3>Yukon Meteorite May Provide “New Window 
into the Universe”</h3> 

A meteorite that exploded over a remote area of northwest Canada in 
January may offer &ldquo;a new window into the universe before the 
solar system was created,&rdquo; said a NASA scientist who has begun 
analyzing some of the meteorite fragments.



The very primitive composition and pristine condition of the 
4.5-billion-year-old meteorite &ldquo;offers us a snapshot of the 
original composition of the entire solar system before the planets 
formed,&rdquo; said Dr. Michael Zolensky, a cosmic mineralogist at 
NASA&rsquo;s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston. &ldquo;It tells 
us what the initial materials were like that went into making up the 
Earth, the Moon and the Sun.&rdquo; The age of the solar system is 
about 4.5 billion years. &ldquo;These meteorite fragments are of 
immense scientific value and interest,&rdquo; said Dr. Richard Herd, 
Curator of National Collections for the Geological Survey of Canada. 
&ldquo;This rare find potentially will contribute to a better 
understanding of the nature of the universe.&rdquo; He added that 
finding previously undetected compounds in the fragments will have 
implications for both planetary and biological sciences worldwide.



The scientists described the fragments -- lumps of crumbly rock with 
scorched, pitted surfaces -- as resembling partly used charcoal 
briquettes: black, porous, fairly light and still smelling of sulfur.



Several factors combined to make this meteorite a cosmic bonanza for 
scientists. First, it is a carbonaceous chondrite, a rare type of 
meteorite that contains many forms of carbon and organics, basic 
building blocks of life. Carbonaceous chondrites, which comprise only 
about 2 percent of meteorites known to have fallen to Earth, are 
typically difficult to recover because they easily break down during 
entry into Earth's atmosphere and during weathering on the ground.



Zolensky said the last time a carbonaceous chondrite like this fell to 
Earth and was recovered was 31 years ago. &ldquo;This is probably the 
only time in my career this will happen,&rdquo; he said.



The location and timing of the fireball also contributed to the 
scientific value of the samples. The fragments are part of a meteor 
that blew apart in a fireball over a remote area of the Yukon 
Territory the morning of Jan. 18, 2000. The resulting sonic booms 
startled residents as far away as British Columbia and Alaska. The 
frozen, snow-covered ground of the remote Yukon provided near-ideal 
conditions for preservation, Herd said.



The finder, a local resident who has requested anonymity, collected 
the fragments in clean plastic bags and kept them continuously 
frozen. These are the only freshly fallen meteorite fragments 
recovered and transferred to a laboratory without thawing. Keeping 
the fragments continuously frozen minimized the potential loss of 
organics and other volatile compounds in the fragments.



About 2 pounds of meteorite fragments have been recovered so far. Of 
those, Zolensky has about a pound of fragments provided by the 
Canadian government and the University of Calgary. The finder loaned 
them to the university and to the National Meteorite Collection of 
the Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) in 
Ottawa, which provided the still-frozen samples to JSC for study and 
analysis. NASA is working closely with NRCan scientists and is 
providing results of the analysis to them. &ldquo;We are very 
sensitive to the fact that these are Canadian meteorites,&rdquo; 
Zolensky said. Any future studies will be done in cooperation with 
scientists worldwide. Scientific analysis of the fragments has just 
begun. Tests have been limited to two non-destructive examinations: 
making a thin section to analyze the mineralogy of the fragments, and 
measuring induced radioactivity. Tests for induced radioactivity, 
which are being carried out by Dr. David Lindstrom of JSC, measure 
the object&rsquo;s exposure to space radiation. This can be used to 
determine the size of the original meteoroid in space, estimates of 
which range up to 50 feet in diameter, with a mass of more than 55 
tons.



The next step in the study of the fragments will be baseline analyses 
of the organics in the meteorite. This would require the destruction 
of some samples, and negotiations are under way with the finder for 
permission to do such tests.



&ldquo;The nice thing about having a sample like this is, you 
don&rsquo;t really know what you&rsquo;re going to find or where 
it&rsquo;s going to lead,&rdquo; Zolensky said. &ldquo;You can tuck 
samples away for the future when new questions come along that people 
can&rsquo;t even think up now.&rdquo;

	
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