Hillsborough meteorite holds evidence of ancient asteroid brines, Science Advances study finds

A meteorite that struck a home in Hillsborough, New Jersey, after a July 16, 2024 fireball preserved traces of ancient salty fluids and complex organic chemistry from a primitive asteroid, according to a SciTechDaily report on a Science Advances study (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aea2105). Researchers said forensic analysis of the fragments found preserved bits from near the surface of a primitive asteroid where it experienced concentrated salty fluids, a process not previously known in that setting. The fall is described as only the 22nd observed CM meteorite fall and the second witnessed fall of a CM1/2 carbonaceous chondrite, after Kolang. Peter Jenniskens and collaborators tracked the trajectory with cameras and radar; the homeowner recovered fragments with disposable gloves after the rock came through a bedroom ceiling, yielding what Jenniskens called among the most pristine CM1/2 meteorites known. NASA Johnson Space Center meteoriticist Mike Zolensky and colleagues linked salt-rich CM1 fragments to near-surface brine concentration on the parent body, analogous to a drying salt lake on Earth.