Amateur Astronomer Thinks Fast, Preserves Meteorite With Evidence Of Early Life

A photo of a large chink from the Hillsborough meteorite.Credit: SETI

This week, NASA announced new findings from the Hillsborough meteorite that crashed to Earth in 2024. The meteorite's remarkably pristine condition allowed the organization to study it in great detail, revealing new chemical evidence about the nature of so-called primitive asteroids and, through that, the possible origins of life.

The reason the asteroid was so well-preserved was that it crashed through the roof of an extremely sharp New Jersey couple, one of whom was an amateur astronomer. They immediately realized what had very nearly fallen into their laps, and donned gloves for handling the rocks before scrounging up enough glass jars to contain all the fragments.

The glass jars were sealed with tin-foil, and overall the move helped preserve delicate minerals and organic compounds that are often altered by moisture, weather, and contamination.

Thanks to this, scientists were able...

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