Extraterrestrial carbon nanospheres

Electron microscopic and spectroscopic studies of C-rich nanospheres in carbonacerous chondrite (CC) meteorites and in the acid residues were carried out. The nanospheres were found important component of the macromolecular material in CCs. Carbonaceous nanospheres were found in the crushed meteorite and in their acid residues. Possible formation mechanisms include hydrothermal processing of UV-irradiated organics in interstellar ices on the primitive asteroid or through heating event of UV-irradiated organic-rich interstellar ices. Finding the timing and formation conditions of the nanospheres from the meteorites has the potential to provide important information on the pathways for organosynthesis in space.