The Hillsborough meteorite is a CM1/2 carbonaceous-chondrite that struck a home in Hillsborough, New Jersey on July 16, 2024, following a daytime meteor sighting near New York City. Rapid preservation by the homeowner produced what researchers call one of the most pristine specimens of its type.
A Science Advances study led by peter-jenniskens (seti-institute) found it to be only the second witnessed fall of the rare CM1/2 subtype, with bulk composition of 1.8% carbon and 0.07% nitrogen. The meteorite preserves extensive evidence of aqueous alteration on its parent asteroid, including salt-rich fragments interpreted as evaporite residue from ancient surface brines. Researchers argue these brines could have kept phosphate in solution and catalyzed organic reactions; the meteorite’s abundant soluble organics, including amino acids, are consistent with in-parent-body, brine-assisted prebiotic synthesis — reinforcing the exogenous-organics hypothesis alongside Murchison. Fragments will be curated at the american-museum-of-natural-history.