Aguas Zarcas Meteorites For Sale

Just after 9:00 PM on April 23, 2019, a brilliant fireball illuminated the skies over Aguas Zarcas, a town in central Costa Rica. The meteor then burst, scattering meteorite fragments across the area—some pieces even crashed into a doghouse! Upon atmospheric entry, the meteor broke into hundreds of smaller fusion-crusted stones, mostly angular but with some oriented specimens also found. Six days after the fall, rain drenched the area. Since scientists collected samples both before and after the rain, they now have excellent comparisons to observe how rain impacts the fusion crusts on fresh meteorites. Approximately 27 kilograms of meteorite material have been recovered from the fall.

Aguas Zarcas is classified as a CM2 chondrite, a rare type of chondrite featuring fine-grained chondrules, matrices, and plentiful hydrated minerals. Its highly brecciated structure indicates it came from a heavily impacted parent body, shaped by constant collisions and the accumulation of asteroidal material. Aguas Zarcas even contains organic compounds like sugar alcohols, carboxylic acids, and other hydrocarbons!

What Is A Carbonaceous Chondrite?

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Chondrite Meteorites

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What Is A Carbonaceous Chondrite?

A carbonaceous chondrite meteorite is a rare type of stony meteorite that contains high amounts of carbon, organic molecules, and water-bearing minerals. These meteorites are some of the oldest materials in the solar system, with origins dating back over 4.5 billion years. Because they contain unaltered minerals and complex organic compounds, carbonaceous chondrites are considered "primitive" meteorites, preserving the raw ingredients from which the solar system formed.

Key Characteristics of Carbonaceous Chondrites:

They contain carbon-based compounds, including amino acids, sugars, and other molecules essential to life. This has led scientists to speculate that carbonaceous chondrites could have delivered the building blocks of life to early Earth.

Many carbonaceous chondrites contain minerals formed in the presence of water, suggesting they originated in parts of the solar system with abundant water or ice. This water-rich nature indicates that their parent bodies (often asteroids) likely contained liquid water at some point.

These meteorites have changed very little since their formation, making them valuable records of early solar system conditions. They provide unique insights into the original material and chemistry of the solar system.

Carbonaceous chondrites are relatively rare, representing only about 4% of all known meteorite falls. They are also fragile and more susceptible to weathering, which makes preserving them in their pristine state a challenge.

Further Classification:

Carbonaceous chondrites are classified into several groups (e.g., CI, CM, CR, CO, CV, CK), based on their mineral content, alteration level, and other characteristics. Each group provides clues about its formation environment:

CI Chondrites: Extremely rare, with the highest abundance of water and organic material.

CM Chondrites: Water-rich and known for amino acids and other organic compounds.

CR, CO, CV, CK Chondrites: Vary in water and carbon content, with differences in mineral composition and thermal histories.