2001 Meteorite News AP-newswire

Sugar compounds found in meteorites; bolsters theory that ingredients of life came from outer space
Author: ALEX DOMINGUEZ Associated Press Writer Date: December 19, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive Sugar compounds, an indispensable ingredient for life today, have been found in meteorites, bolstering the theory that chunks of rock from outer space delivered the materials that gave rise to life in Earth. Another key ingredient, amino acids, has already been found in meteorites. George Cooper of NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., said that while it has not been proved that meteorites delivered the materials that led to life, the discovery means... Click here for complete article ($1.50)

Researchers says NASA's Mars researchers have failed to prove case for bacteria fossils in Martian meteorite
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer Date: November 20, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive A group of researchers say NASA scientists have failed to prove their contention that a Mars meteorite contains evidence of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet. A group led by Peter R. Buseck of Arizona State University said that the NASA researchers have inadequate evidence showing that tiny crystalline structures in Mars meteorite ALH84001 were formed by bacteria billions of years ago as the rock was sitting on the Martian surface. A study with Buseck as the first author appears... Click here for complete article ($1.50)

Asteroid photos show complex surface with dust 'ponds' likely formed after impacts, researchers say
Author: WILLIAM McCALL Associated Press Writer Date: September 26, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive Photos taken by the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid show a landscape littered with boulders, small rocks and other debris that appear to have partly eroded and settled into mysterious "ponds" of thick dust, researchers say. The photos taken by the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft, called NEAR, add evidence to the theory that even the weak gravity of an asteroid can hold on to much of the flying debris created when struck by another object such as... Click here for complete article ($1.50)

Geologists scour Colorado countryside for remnants of meteor seen from Idaho to New Mexico
Author: JUDITH KOHLER Associated Press Writer Date: August 30, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive Geologist Jack Murphy is in hot pursuit of remnants of a fireball spotted in the Western skies. Murphy heads a team of meteor hunters at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science that is chasing reports of a white ball described as up to 40 times brighter than the moon. Data from an acoustic tracking system at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico suggest the meteor weighed roughly a ton and plummeted toward earth at 11.25 miles a second on Aug. 17. ... Click here for complete article ($1.50)


Newly discovered Mars meteorite could be window into Red Planet
Author: ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS Associated Press Writer Date: June 16, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
A fist-sized meteorite, one of only 18 rocks on Earth known to have come from Mars, has been found by Swiss scientists in the Oman desert -- a prize discovery that could help determine if the planet ever sustained life.
Scientists at the University of Bern announced the find Friday and said they are just beginning to examine the meteorite. Most of the other 17 Martian rocks have been snapped up by collectors, they said, so few are fully available for study. "I suspected from...
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Meteorites from moon, Mars found
Date: April 8, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Researchers have discovered two new examples of the rarest space rocks found on Earth: meteorites from the moon and Mars.
The two rocks are the 15th and 17th meteorites to be found from the moon and Mars, respectively, making them the least common among the estimated 22,000 meteorites discovered on this planet. News of the discoveries was announced this month and will be reported in the July 2001 bulletin of the Meteoritical Society, an international organization devoted to the study of...
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Meteorite disappoints scientists after a year-long study
Author: The Associated Press Date: April 6, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
To scientists' disappointment, a meteorite that fell on a frozen Canadian lake has been found to contain none of the organic ingredients believed necessary to have initiated life on Earth.
Many scientists believe that simple life arose on Earth more than 4 billion years ago after meteorites crashed through the atmosphere, carrying amino acids and other biochemical compounds from outer space. The fragments of a 220-ton meteorite that were sprinkled on Tagish Lake in British...
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Study: Crystal in meteorite proves life once existed on Mars
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer Date: February 27, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
A crystal found in a meteorite from Mars could only have been formed by a microbe and may be evidence of the oldest life form ever found, researchers say.
Scientists at the Johnson Space Center in Houston say that a crystalized magnetic mineral, called magnetite, found in a Martian meteorite is similar to crystals formed on Earth by bacteria. "I am convinced that this is supporting evidence for the presence of ancient life on Mars," said Kathie Thomas-Keprta, an...
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Researchers say crystal in meteorite proves life once existed on Mars
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer Date: February 27, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
A controversial finding that a meteorite from Mars might contain evidence of life has been boosted by the discovery of a magnetic crystal that researchers say could have been made only by a microbe.
In a study appearing Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston say a crystalized magnetic mineral called magnetite, found in a Martian meteorite, is similar to crystals formed on Earth by bacteria. "I am...
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Astronomers find key ingredients for formation of life
Author: PAUL RECER AP Science Writer Date: February 20, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Complex carbon molecules and water, which are key ingredients for life, have been found in the dust and gas around distant stars. The findings boost the theory that the cosmic stew of life is common in the universe.
Astronomers reported Monday that orbiting observatories probing the space around both young and dying stars have found vast waves of water vapor and clear traces of carbon molecules that can play a basic role in organic chemistry. "This strengthens greatly the...
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Japanese team finds 3,554 meteorites in Antarctica
Date: January 23, 2001 Publication: Associated Press Archive
Japanese scientists have found 3,554 meteorites in Antarctica during a three-week search, a collection that could yield clues about the rest of our solar system, a government official said Tuesday.
The finds were made around the Yamato mountain range about 186 miles from Japan's base on the rim of Antarctica, said Shigeru Kure of Japan's science ministry. A meteorite is a meteor that survives the destructive effects of a flight through the atmosphere and falls to...
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