New analysis of the famous Murchison meteorite that crash-landed in Australia over 40 years ago has turned up a surprise for astronomers. The space rock, which is over 4.65 billion old, contains millions of previously unseen organic compounds. Maybe the seeds that started off life right here on planet Earth. The results of the meteorite study are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers in Germany have examined the carbon-rich meteorite using 21st century technology and found signals representing more than 14,000 different elementary compositions, including dozens of amino acids, the building blocks of life, in a sample of the rock. "We are really excited.

When I first studied it and saw the complexity I was so amazed," said Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin, lead researcher on the study from the Institute for Ecological Chemistry in Neuherberg, Germany.

The Murchison meteorite landed near a town in Victoria of the same name in 1969. Startled residents reported seeing a bright fireball explode into three separate fragments over the town before fading from view in a thick cloud of smoke. About 30 seconds later, a loud tremor was heard.

Many specimens were found over an area of 13 square kilometres, with some pieces weighing up to 7 kilograms! One smaller fragment broke through a barn roof and fell in some hay. In all, about 100 kilograms of the fractured meteorite was eventually located by searchers.

This is arguably the most famous meteorites ever found. Earlier analysis of the space rock revealed the presence of a complex mixture of differing sized organic chemicals including the amino acids, probably collected during its journey around our early solar system.

Is this the Genesis rock? It's very possible! Amino acids build protein, protein builds tissue - and that makes people, like you and I. Now you know where you probably came from.

David Reneke ([email protected]) is the editor and publisher of Astro Space News. He's a writer, lecturer, science broadcaster and astronomer. David operates his own website (davidreneke.com).