Planetary scientists sharing ideas and discoveries.

Planetary Science Research Discoveries (PSRD) is an educational site sharing the latest research being made by NASA-sponsored scientists on meteorites, planets, and other bodies in our Solar System. The website is supported by the Cosmochemistry Program of NASA's Science Mission Directorate and by Hawai'i Space Grant Consortium and is a vital link for planetary and space sciences, and for learning how science works.

Supported by NASA's Cosmochemistry Program and Hawai'i Space Grant Consortium.

Archive of Meteorite Articles

DATE POSTED	ARTICLES
13 NOV 09	An Even More Precise View of Aluminum-26 in the Solar Nebula by G. Jeffrey Taylor New, precise analyses of the short-lived isotope aluminum-26 indicate it was distributed uniformly throughout the early solar system, an important clue to its origin.	PSRD-Al-26-distribution.pdf
26 OCT 09	Kaidun--A Meteorite with Everything but the Kitchen Sink by Linda M. V. Martel This unique breccia is called a single-stone meteorite collection.	PSRD-Kaidun_meteorite.pdf
18 SEPT 09	The Growing Diversity of Lunar Basalts by G. Jeffrey Taylor A lunar basaltic meteorite adds complexity to the already complicated story of mare basalt volcanism on the Moon.	PSRD-NWA032.pdf
6 JULY 09	Better Know A Meteorite Collection: Natural History Museum in London, United Kingdom by Linda M. V. Martel PSRD highlights places and people around the world who play central roles in caring for and analyzing meteorites.	PSRD-Meteorites.London.Museum.pdf
25 JUNE 09	The Complicated Geologic History of Asteroid 4 Vesta by G. Jeffrey Taylor Meteorites from asteroid 4 Vesta show that it contains patches of granite-like rock.	PSRD-Vesta.granite-like.pdf
11 MAY 09	Better Know A Meteorite Collection: Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria by Linda M. V. Martel PSRD highlights places and people around the world who play central roles in caring for and analyzing meteorites.	PSRD-Meteorites.Vienna.Museum.pdf
8 MAY 09	Mars Crust: Made of Basalt by G. Jeffrey Taylor Chemical analyses of rocks on the Martian surface indicate that the Martian crust was built of basalt lava flows not much different from those on Earth.	PSRD-Mars.Basaltic.Crust.pdf
19 FEB 09	More Evidence for Multiple Meteorite Magmas by G. Jeffrey Taylor Cosmochemists show that a pair of meteorites formed in an asteroid that erupted a newly-recognized type of asteroidal magma.	PSRD-asteroidalMagmas.pdf
20 NOV 08	Tiny Molten Droplets, Dusty Clouds, and Planet Formation by G. Jeffrey Taylor Roughly constant sodium concentration during chondrule crystallization suggests that these molten droplets formed in regions of the solar nebula that were enriched in rocky dust.	PSRD-chondrule_sodium.pdf
8 JULY 08	Heating, Cooling, and Cratering: One Asteroid's Complicated Story by G. Jeffrey Taylor Cooling rate data indicate that the H-chondrite parent asteroid was deeply cratered as it cooled slowly.	PSRD-H-chondrite-parent.pdf
30 MAY 08	Meteorites Found on Mars by Linda M. V. Martel No surprise that there are meteorites on other planets. Now that we've seen them on Mars, what do we know about them and what does their geochemistry tell us about the environment where they landed?	PSRD-MetsOnMars.pdf
19 DEC 07	Chips Off an Old Lava Flow by G. Jeffrey Taylor Lunar meteorite Kalahari 009 contains fragments of basalt about 4.35 billion years old, a record-breaking old age for mare basalt.	PSRD-cryptomareSample.pdf
27 NOV 07	Getting to Know Vesta by Linda M. V. Martel Scientists are primed with geochemical data from HED meteorites for Dawn's encounter with asteroid 4 Vesta.	PSRD-HEDs-Vesta.pdf
30 OCT 07	Did an Impact Make the Mysterious Microscopic Magnetite Crystals in ALH 84001? by G. Jeffrey Taylor Tiny crystals of magnetite in Martian meteorite ALH 84001 might have been made when shock waves decomposed iron carbonate.	PSRD-magnitite-origin.pdf
17 SEPT 07	Melted Crumbs from Asteroid Vesta by Linda M. V. Martel Researchers studying some of the rarest of the smallest meteorites call them melted crumbs from asteroid Vesta.	PSRD-cosmicSpherules.pdf
6 JULY 07	The Sun's Crowded Delivery Room by G. Jeffrey Taylor Isotopes in meteorites suggest that the Sun formed in a dense cluster of stars.	PSRD-iron-60.pdf
18 APRIL 07	When Worlds Really Did Collide by Edward Scott, Jijin Yang, and Joseph Goldstein Cosmochemical studies and dynamical models of protoplanetary collisions suggest a new origin for iron meteorites.	PSRD-irons.pdf
25 JAN 07	Organic Globules from the Cold Far Reaches of the Proto-Solar Disk by G. Jeffrey Taylor Hollow organic globules in the Tagish Lake meteorite probably formed far from the proto-Sun, maybe even in interstellar space before our Solar System formed.	PSRD-organicGlobules.pdf
19 DEC 06	Squeezing Meteorites to Reveal the Martian Mantle by G. Jeffrey Taylor Experiments at high temperature and pressure give clues to the composition of the interior of Mars.	PSRD-Y-980459.pdf
21 JULY 06	Iron Meteorites as the Not-So-Distant Cousins of Earth by William F. Bottke and Linda M. V. Martel Numerical simulations suggest that some iron meteorites are fragments of the long lost precursor material that formed the Earth and other terrestrial planets.	PSRD-asteroidGatecrashers.pdf
14 JUNE 06	Fossil Meteorite Unearthed From Crater by Linda M. V. Martel A meteorite of unusual chondritic composition was found in a highly unlikely place, challenging how we think about colossal impact events on Earth.	PSRD-Morokweng.pdf
26 MAY 06	Interstellar Organic Matter in Meteorites by G. Jeffrey Taylor Carbonaceous chondrites contain organic compounds with high deuterium/hydrogen ratios, suggesting they formed in interstellar space.	PSRD-meteoriteOrganics.pdf
31 JAN 06	Cosmochemistry from Nanometers to Light-Years by G. Jeffrey Taylor Cosmochemists and astronomers test theories on the formation of stars and planets.	PSRD-protoplanetary.pdf
27 DEC 05	Magma and Water on Mars by G. Jeffrey Taylor Martian meteorites tell us part of the fascinating story about when volcanoes erupted and water flowed.	PSRD-Magma-WaterOnMars.pdf
21 OCT 05	Little Chondrules and Giant Impacts by G. Jeffrey Taylor Chondrules in metal-rich meteorites formed a couple of million years after most other chondrules, possibly by impact between moon-sized or larger objects.	PSRD-chondrules_impacts.pdf
30 SEPT 05	Portales Valley: Not Just Another Ordinary Chondrite by Alex Ruzicka and Melinda Hutson A melted meteorite gives a snapshot of the heat and shock that wracked an asteroid during the first stages of differentiation.	PSRD-PortalesValley.pdf
29 JULY 05	Martian Meteorites Record Surface Temperatures on Mars by G. Jeffrey Taylor Gases trapped in Martian meteorites indicate that Mars has been a cold desert for a long, long time.	PSRD-Mars_paleotemp.pdf
31 MAY 05	Making Sense of Droplets Inside Droplets by G. Jeffrey Taylor The vexing presence of chondrules inside supposedly older calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) in chondrites makes sense if the CAIs were remelted.	PSRD-chondrulesCAIs.pdf
13 APRIL 05	Antarctic Guide to Martian Weathering by Linda M. V. Martel Soils in the Antarctic Dry Valleys contain traces of silicate alteration products and secondary salts much like those found in Martian meteorites.	PSRD-DryValleysSoils.pdf
31 OCT 04	New Lunar Meteorite Provides its Lunar Address and Some Clues about Early Bombardment of the Moon by G. Jeffrey Taylor A newly discovered meteorite from the Moon provides a detailed record of its history, allowing scientists to make a reasonable guess about where it came from on the Moon and to test ideas for the timing of early impact bombardment.	PSRD-SaU169.pdf
26 AUG 04	Meteorite Shower in Park Forest, Illinois by Linda M. V. Martel An L5 chondrite strewnfield is centered at Park Forest, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago.	PSRD-ParkForest.pdf
5 JULY 04	New Mineral Proves an Old Idea about Space Weathering by Linda M. V. Martel A newly discovered vapor-deposited iron silicide in a lunar meteorite has been named hapkeite.	PSRD-newMineral.pdf
1 JULY 04	Carbonates in ALH 84001: Part of the Story of Water on Mars by Catherine M. Corrigan The study of multi-generational carbonate assemblages in Martian meteorite ALH 84001 reveals a complex history of crystal formation, growth, and alteration.	PSRD-carbonatesALH84001.pdf
23 JUNE 04	The Multifarious Martian Mantle by G. Jeffrey Taylor Detailed analyses of Martian meteorites reveal that the planet's interior preserves distinctive regions that formed 4.5 billion years ago.	PSRD-martianMantle.pdf
1 JUNE 04	Silicate Stardust in Meteorites by G. Jeffrey Taylor Silicates are the most abundant solids in disks around growing stars, but presolar silicates have not been found in even the most primitive meteorite--until now.	PSRD-silicatesMeteorites.pdf
2 APRIL 04	Asteroid Heating: A Shocking View by G. Jeffrey Taylor Mineral intergrowths in chondritic meteorites may indicate that some asteroids were heated by impact.	PSRD-asteroidHeating.pdf
9 MAR 04	Tiny Traces of a Big Asteroid Breakup by Linda M. V. Martel Fossil meteorites and chromite grains record a hundred-fold increase in the number of meteorites that fell 480 million years ago compared to the meteorite influx today.	PSRD-fossilMeteorites.pdf
21 MAY 03	Triggering the Formation of the Solar System by G. Jeffrey Taylor New data from meteorites indicates that formation of the Solar System was triggered by a supernova.	PSRD-SolarSystemTrigger.pdf
28 APRIL 03	Asteroidal Lava Flows by G. Jeffrey Taylor Meteorite studies indicate that we have pieces of lava flows from at least five asteroids.	PSRD-asteroidalLava.pdf
23 JAN 03	QUE 93148: A Part of the Mantle of Asteroid 4 Vesta? by Christine Floss A tiny meteorite tells a story of melting in the deep mantle of a big asteroid.	PSRD-QUE93148.pdf
12 DEC 02	Tagish Lake -- A Meteorite from the Far Reaches of the Asteroid Belt by David W. Mittlefehldt A new type of primitive meteorite with much to tell us about the formation of the solar system.	PSRD-TagishLake.pdf
24 OCT 02	The First Rock in the Solar System by Steven B. Simon An aggregate of corundum, hibonite, and perovskite may be among the first rocks to form in the Solar System.	PSRD-firstRock.pdf
30 SEPT 02	Using Aluminum-26 as a Clock for Early Solar System Events by Ernst Zinner Correspondence between ²⁶Al and Pb-Pb ages shows that ²⁶Al records a detailed record of events in the early solar system.	PSRD-Al26clock.pdf
25 SEPT 02	Dating the Earliest Solids in our Solar System by Alexander N. Krot Lead isotopic analyses give absolute formation ages of Ca-Al-rich inclusions and chondrules.	PSRD-isotopicAges.pdf
30 AUG 02	The Wet, Oxidizing Crust of Mars by G. Jeffrey Taylor Analysis of isotopes and oxide minerals in Martian meteorites indicate that many magmas interacted with a wet, oxidizing crust as they oozed from the Martian mantle to its reddish surface.	PSRD-oxidation.pdf
13 MAY 02	Resolution of a Big Argument About Tiny Magnetic Minerals in Martian Meteorite by Edward R. D. Scott and David J. Barber Magnetic minerals in Martian meteorite ALH 84001 formed as a result of impact heating and decomposition of carbonate. They were never used as compasses by Martian microorganisms.	PSRD-ALH84001magnetite.pdf
28 FEB 02	Searching Antarctic Ice for Meteorites by Linda M. V. Martel Silver anniversary season: The vigorous life and times of the ANSMET team at Meteorite Hills resulted in a new set of 336 meteorites collected off the ice.	PSRD-meteoriteSearch.pdf
26 FEB 02	The Composition of Asteroid 433 Eros by G. Jeffrey Taylor X-rays and reflected light suggest that asteroid 433 Eros is similar in composition to the most common type of meteorite--maybe.	PSRD-eros.pdf
3 DEC 01	Oxygen Isotopes Give Clues to the Formation of Planets, Moons, and Asteroids by Edward R. D. Scott As they formed from gas and dust near the Sun, grains in some meteorites acquired oxygen that originated in numerous other stars that shone long before our solar system was born.	PSRD-Oisotopes.pdf
7 NOV 01	Meteorites on Ice by Linda M. V. Martel Antarctic meteorites provide a continuous and readily available supply of extraterrestrial materials, stimulating new research and ideas in cosmochemistry, planetary geology, astronomy, and astrobiology.	PSRD-metsOnIce.pdf
24 APRIL 01	Gullies and Canyons, Rocks and Experiments: The Mystery of Water on Mars by G. Jeffrey Taylor The combination of analyses of Martian meteorites and laboratory experiments helps scientists understand how water in magma has changed the Martian crust and surface.	PSRD-waterFromRocks.pdf
2 MAR 01	Relicts from the Birth of the Solar System by G. Jeffrey Taylor Rapidly cooled silicate droplets found in unusual meteorites may have formed directly from the cloud of gas and dust surrounding the young Sun.	PSRD-relicts.pdf
24 JAN 01	Lunar Meteorites and the Lunar Cataclysm by Barbara A. Cohen Dating of impact melts in lunar meteorites supports the idea that the Moon was intensely bombarded about 3.9 billion years ago.	PSRD-lunarCataclysm.pdf
30 SEPT 00	The Oldest Metal in the Solar System by G. Jeffrey Taylor Grains of metallic iron in some chondritic meteorites condensed from hot clouds of gas and dust while the Sun was forming.	PSRD-primitiveFeNi.pdf
24 MAY 00	Liquid Water on Mars: The Story from Meteorites by G. Jeffrey Taylor Martian meteorites may have reacted with liquid water on Mars intermittently during the past 650 million years.	PSRD-wetMars.pdf
10 MAR 00	Flash Heating by G. Jeffrey Taylor Extremely rapid heating of rocky materials in a furnace is possible, making it feasible to study the formation of melted droplets in meteorites.	PSRD-flashHeating.pdf
17 DEC 99	Difficult Experiments on Weird Rocks by G. Jeffrey Taylor Melting experiments on oxygen-depleted meteorites give clues about magma compositions and core formation in asteroids.	PSRD-indarch.pdf
24 NOV 99	Purple Salt and Tiny Drops of Water in Meteorites by G. Jeffrey Taylor Two meteorites contain crystals of sodium chloride that have trapped tiny drops of ancient salty water.	PSRD-PurpleSalt.pdf
24 AUG 99	Honeycombed Asteroids by G. Jeffrey Taylor Asteroids have lower densities than expected, probably because they have been disrupted and then reassembled into porous rubble piles.	PSRD-asteroidDensity.pdf
30 JULY 99	Fossils Blowing in the Wind: More Contamination of Antarctic Meteorites by G. Jeffrey Taylor Terrestrial microfossils occur in cracks in Antarctic meteorites, making it difficult to search for extraterrestrial life in meteorites.	PSRD-contamination.pdf
20 JULY 99	An Adulterated Martian Meteorite by G. Jeffrey Taylor Martian meteorite EETA79001 may have formed by impact melting and mixing of other Martian rocks, not by simple igneous activity as originally thought.	PSRD-EETA79001.pdf
3 JUNE 99	Martian Organic Matter in ALH84001? by G. Jeffrey Taylor Indigenous organic compounds in ALH84001 may be from meteorite bombardment of the surface of Mars.	PSRD-organicsBecker.pdf
21 APRIL 99	30th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference: Some Highlights by G. Jeffrey Taylor The annual LPSC featured bacteria, new views of the Moon, and an intriguing new meteorite.	PSRD-lpsc30.pdf
8 FEB 99	From a Cloud of Gas and Dust to an Asteroid with Percolating Hot Water by G. Jeffrey Taylor Isotopes of manganese and chromium indicate that chemical reactions involving hot water altered minerals on water-bearing asteroids during the same time interval that other asteroids were melted, between 7 and 16 million years after the first solids formed in the Solar System.	PSRD-fayalite.pdf
12 NOV 98	Dry Droplets of Fiery Rain by G. Jeffrey Taylor Experiments test an idea for the origin of droplets of rocky material melted before the planets formed.	PSRD-chondrules.pdf
17 FEB 98	Organic Compounds in Martian Meteorites May Be Terrestrial Contaminants by A. J. T. Jull Carbon-14 measurements indicate that most of the organic compounds in martian meteorite ALH84001 were acquired on Earth, not Mars, weakening the case for fossil martian life in the meteorite.	PSRD-OrganicsALH84001.pdf
18 DEC 97	Fossils in Martian Meteorite: Real or Imagined? by G. Jeffrey Taylor Some scientists suggest that the small, wormy structures in martian meteorite ALH84001 are features of the crystals in the rock, decorated with artifacts introduced during sample preparation, not nanofossils. The discoverers of the fossil-like objects disagree.	PSRD-LifeonMarsUpdate2.pdf
22 AUG 97	Testing the Evidence for Life on Mars: NASA and NSF Fund New Studies of Martian Meteorite . by G. Jeffrey Taylor Newly awarded grants will fund 23 projects to further analyze martian meteorite ALH84001 and the details that led to last year's announcement of possible ancient martian life.	PSRD-NewAwards.pdf
8 JULY 97	Moving Stars and Shifting Sands of Presolar History. by Donald D. Clayton Meteorites contain tiny grains of minerals cast off from ancient stars before the birth of our own Solar System. These grains tell a story of element formation, motions inside stars, and migration of stars in the Galaxy.	PSRD-Stardust.pdf
22 MAY 97	Shocked Carbonates may Spell N-o L-i-f-e in Martian Meteorite ALH84001. by Edward R. D. Scott Evidence for redistribution of carbonates by shock casts doubt on fossil life in martian meteorite.	PSRD-ShockedCarb.pdf
22 MAY 97	Low-temperature Origin of Carbonates Consistent with Life in ALH84001. by G. Jeffrey Taylor Evidence from magnetism and isotopes consistent with life in martian meteorite.	PSRD-LowTempCarb.pdf
31 MAR 97	Life on Mars--The Debate Continues. by G. Jeffrey Taylor Scientists continue their search for answers to the question of fossil life in a martian meteorite. Have we found evidence for life, nonbiologic processes or contamination? The great debate is far from over.	PSRD-LifeonMarsUpdate.pdf
31 MAR 97	Not Quite a Meeting of the Minds. by G. Jeffrey Taylor The debate about life in martian meteorite ALH 84001 at the 28th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference was vigorous. Some investigators will turn out to be right, others wrong, but there will be no losers.	PSRD-LPSCreport.pdf
21 DEC 96	Meteorites from Mars, Rocks from Canada. by Rachel C. Friedman There is more to Mars rocks than suspected fossils. Scientists are using ancient lava flows in eastern Ontario to understand the formation of a group of meteorites from Mars.	PSRD-Nakhlites.pdf
18 OCT 96	Life on Mars? by G. Jeffrey Taylor A group of scientists, headed by Dr. David McKay of Johnson Space Center, have made a case for ancient life on Mars based on features in a meteorite found in Antarctica. Do we indeed have evidence of life on Mars?	PSRD-LifeonMars.pdf


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