Fragile Hillsborough meteorite uncovers amino acids and salts from the early solar system
Scientists analyzing the Hillsborough meteorite fragments recovered from a New Jersey home found a rare CM½ carbonaceous chondrite rich in salts and a diverse suite of extraterrestrial amino acids, offering a pristine snapshot of the early solar system and supporting the idea that meteorites helped deliver organic matter to Earth; the sample’s fragility and rapid containment preserved its original composition for study, with researchers comparing it to Bennu and Ryugu samples to understand water–organic interactions in the early solar system.