FAMOUS METEORITES METEORS & METEORITES A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z                    HOME ABOUT CATEGORIES SITE MAP COPYRIGHT ADVERTISE CONTACT entire Web this site Ivuna meteorite Ivuna meteorite fragment A 0.7-kg carbonaceous chondrite (type CI1) which landed near Ivuna, Tanzania, on Dec. 16, 1938. It was one of four meteorites, including the Orgueil meteorite, in which Bartholomew Nagy and George Claus1 claimed to have found evidence of primitive extraterrestrial fossils. Subsequent analysis led to this claim being discredited. However, in 2001, investigation by a team from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Leideon Observatory in the Netherlands, and the NASA Ames Research Center,2 showed the presence in Ivuna of two simple amino acids, glycine and beta-alanine, and linked Ivuna with a likely origin in the nucleus of a comet. For more on this discovery and its implications, see the entry for the Orgueil meteorite. Related categories    • FAMOUS METEORITES    • METEORS AND METEORITES References Claus, G., and Nagy, B. "A Microbiological Examination of Some Carbonaceous Chondrites," Nature, 192, 594 (1961). Ehrenfreund, P., Glavin, D. P., Botta, O., Cooper, G., and Bada, J. L. "Extraterrestrial amino acids in Orgueil and Ivuna: tracing the parent body of CI type carbonaceous chondrites," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 98(5), 2138-2141 (2001). Also on this site: Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy & Sustainable Living Encyclopedia of History Transport Concepts & Designs (partner site) BACK TO TOP