THE NITROGEN ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION OF METEORITIC HCN

Journal Article · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 2014 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/796/2/L25· OSTI ID:22364889

Pizzarello, Sandra ^[1]

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1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85018-1604 (United States)

HCN is ubiquitous in extraterrestrial environments and is central to current theories on the origin of early solar system organic compounds such as amino acids. These compounds, observed in carbonaceous meteorites, were likely important in the origin and/or evolution of early life. As part of our attempts to understand the origin(s) of meteoritic CN{sup –}, we have analyzed the {sup 15}N/{sup 14}N isotopic composition of HCN gas released from water extracts of the Murchison meteorite and found its value to be near those of the terrestrial atmosphere. The findings, when evaluated viz-a-viz molecular abundances and isotopic data of meteoritic organic compounds, suggest that HCN formation could have occurred during the protracted water alteration processes known to have affected the mineralogy of many asteroidal bodies during their solar residence. This was an active synthetic stage, which likely involved simple gasses, organic molecules, their presolar precursors, as well as mineral catalysts and would have lead to the formation of molecules of differing isotopic composition, including some with solar values.

• OSTI ID: 22364889
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 796; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ASTEROIDS
ASTROPHYSICS
ELEMENT ABUNDANCE
HYDROCYANIC ACID
ISOTOPE RATIO
METEORITES
METEOROIDS
MOLECULES
NITROGEN 14
NITROGEN 15
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLANETS
PRECURSOR
SOLAR SYSTEM
SOLAR SYSTEM EVOLUTION
WATER