OTD In Space – March 15: Alais Meteorite Brings Organic Chemicals From Space

On March 15, 1806, a meteorite fell from the sky near the town of Alais, France.

Known as the Alais meteorite, this was the first object from space in which scientists discovered organic chemicals. The space rock was classified as a group CI carbonaceous chondrite and is the oldest known meteorite of its kind. Carbonaceous chondrites are extremely rare. They account for less than 5 percent of all meteorites discovered on Earth. Their chemical composition resembles the chemistry of the sun more closely than any other kind of meteorite, so they're considered the most primitive type of space rock. A Swedish chemist named Jons Jacob Berzelius analyzed a sample of the Alais meteorite and found that it contained water, clay minerals and complex carbon compounds.