The Murchison meteorite is a large meteorite that fell to earth near Murchison, Victoria, in

Australia, in 1969. It is one of the most studied meteorites due to its mass (>100 kg (220 lb)), the
fact that it was an observed fall, and that it belongs to a group of meteorites rich in organic
compounds.

In January 2020, astronomers reported that the oldest material on Earth found so far are
Murchison meteorite particles that have been determined to be 7 billion years old, billions of
years older than the 4.54 billion years age of the Earth and the solar system itself.

Contents
 1 History
 2 Classification and composition
 3 Organic compounds
o 3.1 Nucleobases
 4 See also
 5 References
 6 External links

History
On 28 September 1969 at about 10:58 am local time, near Murchison, Victoria, in Australia, a
bright fireball was observed to separate into three fragments before disappearing,[1] leaving a
cloud of smoke. About 30 seconds later, a tremor was heard. Many fragments were found over
an area larger than 13 square kilometres (5.0 sq mi), with individual mass up to 7 kilograms
(15 lb); one, weighing 680 grams (1.5 lb), broke through a roof and fell in hay.[1] The total
collected mass of the meteorite exceeds 100 kilograms (220 lb).[2]

Classification and composition

The meteorite belongs to the CM group of carbonaceous chondrites (see meteorite
classification). Like most CM chondrites, Murchison is petrologic type 2, which means that it
experienced extensive alteration by water-rich fluids on its parent body[3] before falling to Earth.
CM chondrites, together with the CI group, are rich in carbon and are among the most
chemically primitive meteorites.[4] Like other CM chondrites, Murchison contains abundant
CAIs. Over 15 amino acids, some of the basic components of life, have been identified in the
meteorite[5] by multiple studies.

In January 2020, astronomers reported that Murchison meteorite particles have been determined
to be 7 billion years old, billions of years older than the 4.54 billion years age of the Earth itself,
and the oldest material on Earth found so far.[6][7]
Organic compounds

Fragment of the Murchison meteorite (at right) and isolated individual particles (shown in the
test tube).

Murchison contains common amino acids such as glycine, alanine and glutamic acid as well as
unusual ones like isovaline and pseudoleucine.[8] A complex mixture of alkanes was isolated as
well, similar to that found in the Miller–Urey experiment. Serine and threonine, usually
considered to be earthly contaminants, were conspicuously absent in the samples. A specific
family of amino acids called diamino acids was identified in the Murchison meteorite as well.[9]

The initial report stated that the amino acids were racemic and therefore formed in an abiotic
manner because amino acids of terrestrial proteins are all of the L-configuration. Later the amino
acid alanine, which is also a protein amino acid, was found to have an excess of the L-
configuration,[10] which led several to suspect terrestrial contamination according to the argument
that it would be "unusual for an abiotic stereoselective decomposition or synthesis of amino
acids to occur with protein amino acids but not with non-protein amino acids."[11] In 1997, L-
excesses were also found in a non-protein amino acid, isovaline,[12] suggesting an extraterrestrial
source for molecular asymmetry in the Solar System. At the same time, L-excesses of alanine
were again found in Murchison but now with enrichment in the isotope 15N,[13] however, the
isotopic pairing was later contested on analytical grounds.[14] The list of organic materials
identified in the meteorite was extended to
polyols by 2001.[15]
Compound class[16] Concentration (ppm)
Although the meteorite contained a mixture of
Amino acids 17–60
left-handed and right-handed amino acids,
most amino acids used by living organisms are Aliphatic hydrocarbons >35
left-handed in chirality, and most sugars used Aromatic hydrocarbons 3319
are right-handed. A team of chemists in
Fullerenes >100
Sweden demonstrated in 2005 that this
homochirality could have been triggered or Carboxylic acids >300
catalyzed, by the action of a left-handed amino Hydrocarboxylic acids 15
acid such as proline.[17]
Purines and pyrimidines 1.3
Several lines of evidence indicate that the Alcohols 11
interior portions of well-preserved fragments Sulphonic acids 68
from Murchison are pristine. A 2010 study
Phosphonic acids 2
using high resolution analytical tools including
spectroscopy, identified 14,000 molecular compounds including 70 amino acids in a sample of
the meteorite.[18][19] The limited scope of the analysis by mass spectrometry provides for a
potential 50,000 or more unique molecular compositions, with the team estimating the possibility
of millions of distinct organic compounds in the meteorite.[20]

Nucleobases

Further information: Nucleobase

Measured purine and pyrimidine compounds were found in the Murchison meteorite. Carbon
isotope ratios for uracil and xanthine of δ13C = +44.5‰ and +37.7‰, respectively, indicate a
non-terrestrial origin for these compounds. This specimen demonstrates that many organic
compounds could have been delivered by early Solar System bodies and may have played a key
role in life's origin.[21]