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.
Carbonaceous chondrites are extremely rare. They account for less than 5% 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.
Article continues belowA Swedish chemist named Jöns Jacob Berzelius analyzed a sample of the Alais meteorite and found that it contained water, clay minerals and complex carbon compounds.
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