The Winchcombe meteorite, a unique and pristine witness from the outer solar system

King, Ashley J.; Daly, Luke; Rowe, James; Joy, Katherine H.; Greenwood, Richard C.; Devillepoix, Hadrien A. R.; Suttle, Martin D.; Chan, Queenie H. S.; Russell, Sara S.; Bates, Helena C.; Bryson, James F. J.; Clay, Patricia L.; Vida, Denis; Lee, Martin R.; O’Brien, Áine; Hallis, Lydia J.; Stephen, Natasha R.; Tartèse, Romain; Sansom, Eleanor K.; Towner, Martin C.; Cupak, Martin; Shober, Patrick M.; Bland, Phil A.; Findlay, Ross; Franchi, Ian A.; Verchovsky, Alexander B.; Abernethy, Feargus A. J.; Grady, Monica M.; Floyd, Cameron J.; Van Ginneken, Matthias; Bridges, John; Hicks, Leon J.; Jones, Rhian H.; Mitchell, Jennifer T.; Genge, Matthew J.; Jenkins, Laura; Martin, Pierre-Etienne; Sephton, Mark A.; Watson, Jonathan S.; Salge, Tobias; Shirley, Katherine A.; Curtis, Rowan J.; Warren, Tristram J.; Bowles, Neil E.; Stuart, Finlay M.; Di Nicola, Luigia; Györe, Domokos; Boyce, Adrian J.; Shaw, Kathryn M. M.; Elliott, Tim; Steele, Robert C. J.; Povinec, Pavel; Laubenstein, Matthias; Sanderson, David; Cresswell, Alan; Jull, Anthony J. T.; Sýkora, Ivan; Sridhar, Sanjana; Harrison, Richard J.; Willcocks, Francesca M.; Harrison, Catherine S.; Hallatt, Daniel; Wozniakiewicz, Penny J.; Burchell, Mark J.; Alesbrook, Luke S.; Dignam, Aishling; Almeida, Natasha V.; Smith, Caroline L.; Clark, Brett; Humphreys-Williams, Emma R.; Schofield, Paul F.; Cornwell, Luke T.; Spathis, Vassilia; Morgan, Geraint H.; Perkins, Mark J.; Kacerek, Richard; Campbell-Burns, Peter; Colas, Francois; Zanda, Brigitte; Vernazza, Pierre; Bouley, Sylvain; Jeanne, Simon; Hankey, Mike; Collins, Gareth S.; Young, John S.; Shaw, Clive; Horak, Jana; Jones, Dave; James, Nick; Bosley, Steve; Shuttleworth, Alan; Dickinson, Paul; McMullan, Ian; Robson, Derek; Smedley, Andrew R. D.; Stanley, Ben; Bassom, Richard; McIntyre, Mark; Suttle, Adam A.; Fleet, Richard; Bastiaens, Luc; Ihász, Míra B.; McMullan, Sarah; Boazman, Sarah J.; Dickeson, Zach I.; Grindrod, Peter M.; Pickersgill, Annemarie E.; Weir, Colin J.; Suttle, Fiona M.; Farrelly, Sarah; Spencer, Ieun; Naqvi, Sheeraz; Mayne, Ben; Skilton, Dan; Kirk, Dan; Mounsey, Ann; Mounsey, Sally E.; Mounsey, Sarah; Godfrey, Pamela; Bond, Lachlan; Bond, Victoria; Wilcock, Cathryn; Wilcock, Hannah and Wilcock, Rob (2022). The Winchcombe meteorite, a unique and pristine witness from the outer solar system. Science Advances, 8(46), article no. eabq392.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abq3925

Abstract

Direct links between carbonaceous chondrites and their parent bodies in the solar system are rare. The Winchcombe meteorite is the most accurately recorded carbonaceous chondrite fall. Its pre-atmospheric orbit and cosmic-ray exposure age confirm that it arrived on Earth shortly after ejection from a primitive asteroid. Recovered only hours after falling, the composition of the Winchcombe meteorite is largely unmodified by the terrestrial environment. It contains abundant hydrated silicates formed during fluid-rock reactions, and carbon- and nitrogen-bearing organic matter including soluble protein amino acids. The near-pristine hydrogen isotopic composition of the Winchcombe meteorite is comparable to the terrestrial hydrosphere, providing further evidence that volatile-rich carbonaceous asteroids played an important role in the origin of Earth’s water.

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