ORGUEIL METEORITE

object involved in the controversy about whether the organic matter in meteorites is evidence of extraterrestrial life. From a meteoric fall on the village of Orgueil, near Toulouse, France, on the night of May 14, 1864, some 20 fragments of the carbonaceous chondrite type were recovered. Examination soon after the fall showed that the meteorite contained hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen and that its substance resembled peat and lignite, which are produced on Earth from living matter. Further examination four years later revealed hydrocarbons much like those of petroleum. The origin of those organic substances in the meteorite, and others since found in Orgueil and in other carbonaceous chondrites, remains uncertain. In 1962 an examination of parts of the Orgueil meteorite that had lain sealed in a museum case for almost a century disclosed an attempted hoax. Seeds, bits of the European reed Juncus conglomeratus, and fragments of gravel and coal were found embedded in the meteorite. These particles must have been painstakingly placed there, since the substance of the meteorite had been restored around them in such a way as to rule out accidental contamination. The apparent fakery is thought to have been connected with the vehement debate going on in France during 1864 over the possibilities that life might evolve from nonliving matter.