The Murchison Meteorite

[JeffKeryk]

The Murchison Meteorite, one of the oldest rocks in existence.
It is approximately 4,600,000,000 years old and likely existed before the Earth itself had completely formed.

 

[Astro14]

I’m wondering what the Meteorite has to do with the telescope….

 

[edyvw]

I’m wondering what the Meteorite has to do with the telescope….

My first take was that the telescope took a photo of it.

 

[Astro14]

Not to get too pedantic- but if it is a meteorite, it has fallen to earth.

 

[jhellwig]

It is setting on a table so not sure what James Webb has to do with it.

 

[barryh]

The only connection I can think of is very old organic compounds which were discovered both in the meteorite which is very old and by the James Webb telescope which has recently discovered organic compounds at a very great distance which by definition means that they must very old as in the very early time of universe.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I’m wondering what the Meteorite has to do with the telescope….

I was reading about the objects the JWST would show, going back to formation of planets (exoplanets?) and their atmosphere. In order for Scientists to understand observed data, theories will need experiments where possible. This Meteorite could play a part in understanding the data; outgassing was talked about. Something like that...

The age of the Murchison Meteorite blew my mind. From Wikipedia:
"The Murchison meteorite is a meteorite that fell in Australia in 1969 near Murchison, Victoria. It belongs to the carbonaceous chondrite class, a group of meteorites rich in organic compounds. Due to its mass (over 100 kg or 220 lb) and the fact that it was an observed fall, the Murchison meteorite is one of the most studied of all meteorites.[2]

In January 2020, cosmochemists reported that the oldest material found on Earth to date are the silicon carbide particles from the Murchison meteorite, which have been determined to be 7 billion years old, about 2.5 billion years older than the 4.54-billion-year age of the Earth and the Solar System.[a] The published study noted that "dust lifetime estimates mainly rely on sophisticated theoretical models. These models, however, focus on the more common small dust grains and are based on assumptions with large uncertainties."

 

[MolaKule]

A better article that lists no age.

Meteorite That Fell in 1969 Still Revealing Secrets of the Early Solar System

A new analysis of the Murchison meteorite, which fell to Earth more than 40 years ago, reveals tens of thousands of organic compounds

www.scientificamerican.com

There have been many erroneous articles suggesting life has been found in the meteorite but that is false.

I fixed the title.

 

[MolaKule]

My first take was that the telescope took a photo of it.

Except the Murchison fell in 1969.

 

[MolaKule]

...The published study noted that "dust lifetime estimates mainly rely on sophisticated theoretical models. These models, however, focus on the more common small dust grains and are based on assumptions with large uncertainties."

So age dates rely on simulations and totally theoretic models which is mainly a guessing game due to large uncertainties.

 

[vavavroom]

It is setting on a table so not sure what James Webb has to do with it.

What? Webb? Where?

 

[JeffKeryk]

Good conversation. Thanks to all who posted and showed an interest.
As a side note, wifey and I will be attending an Astronomy Lecture later this month on Dark Energy at nearby Stanford U.

 

[edyvw]

Except the Murchison fell in 1969.

Well, didn’t catch up on that.

 

[gfh77665]

Good conversation. Thanks to all who posted and showed an interest.
As a side note, wifey and I will be attending an Astronomy Lecture later this month on Dark Energy at nearby Stanford U.

I love astronomy. If you ever get the chance, check out

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