^1,2,3Danielle N. Simkus, ^2,4José C. Aponte, ⁵Robert W. Hilts, ²Jamie E. Elsila, ¹Christopher D. K. Herd 
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.13202]
¹Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3, Canada
²Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
³NASA Postdoctoral Program at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
⁴Department of Chemistry, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA
⁵Department of Physical Sciences, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3, Canada
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Compound‐specific carbon isotope analysis (δ¹³C) of meteoritic organic compounds can be used to elucidate the abiotic chemical reactions involved in their synthesis. The soluble organic content of the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite has been extensively investigated over the years, with a focus on the origins of amino acids and the potential role of Strecker‐cyanohydrin synthesis in the early solar system. Previous δ¹³C investigations have targeted α‐amino acid and α‐hydroxy acid Strecker products and reactant HCN; however, δ¹³C values for meteoritic aldehydes and ketones (Strecker precursors) have not yet been reported. As such, the distribution of aldehydes and ketones in the cosmos and their role in prebiotic reactions have not been fully investigated. Here, we have applied an optimized O‐(2,3,4,5,6‐pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine (PFBHA) derivatization procedure to the extraction, identification, and δ¹³C analysis of carbonyl compounds in the Murchison meteorite. A suite of aldehydes and ketones, dominated by acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and acetone, were detected in the sample. δ¹³C values, ranging from −10.0‰ to +66.4‰, were more ¹³C‐depleted than would be expected for aldehydes and ketones derived from the interstellar medium, based on interstellar ¹²C/¹³C ratios. These relatively ¹³C‐depleted values suggest that chemical processes taking place in asteroid parent bodies (e.g., oxidation of the IOM) may provide a secondary source of aldehydes and ketones in the solar system. Comparisons between δ¹³C compositions of meteoritic aldehydes and ketones and other organic compound classes were used to evaluate potential structural relationships and associated reactions, including Strecker synthesis and alteration‐driven chemical pathways.

¹John T. Wasson
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13205]
¹Institute of Geophysics, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

A sample of Campo del Cielo with any other name would have the same composition. During the last three decades, our instrumental neutron activation analyses (INAA) of many supposedly new iron meteorites have shown an anomalously large fraction to have compositions within the compositional field of the IAB‐MG iron Campo del Cielo. A plot of Ir versus Au provides the best discrimination; only two independent‐fall irons found after 1980 with good recovery documentation fall within the 90% contour ellipse around the centroid of this Campo field, and one of these is from Antarctica. Now (early 2018) a total of 36 other irons attributed to other geographical locations have compositions that cannot be resolved from the Campo compositional field. Because it is possible that some of these are actually independent falls, the Meteoritical Society Nomenclature Committee has chosen to assign about half these meteorites Nova XXX names used for meteorites whose discovery localities are not adequately documented. However, for Campo‐like irons with too little information (e.g., total weight not known) or for which no adequately large type specimens are available, the decision is to call them Campos with the working name used during the UCLA analysis. In the UCLA Meteorite Collection, they are cataloged together with the documented Campos.

¹M. Shyam Prasad, ¹N. G. Rudraswami, ¹Agnelo Alexandre De Araujo, ¹V. D. Khedekar
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13206]
¹Geological Oceanography Division, CSIR–National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa, India
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Metal in various forms is common in almost all meteorites but considerably rare among micrometeorites. We report here the discovery of two metal micrometeorites, i.e., (1) an awaruite grain similar to those found in the metal nodules of CV chondrites and (2) a metal micrometeorite of kamacite composition enclosing inclusions of chromite and merrillite. This micrometeorite appears to be a fragment of H5/L5 chondrite. These metal micrometeorites add to the inventory of solar system materials that are accreted by the Earth in microscopic form. They also strengthen the argument that a large proportion of material accreted by the Earth that survives atmospheric entry is from asteroidal sources.