Carbonaceous chondrite size and scale context

A carbonaceous chondrite is among the most chemically primitive kinds of meteorite. NASA studies of carbon-rich meteorites have identified amino acids, sugars, and other organics in this broader family, making it one of our best natural archives of prebiotic chemistry in asteroids. Read its scale context, comparisons, and journey links on the canonical object page.

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Scale of Space is a scroll-based journey through the universe, placing objects on a single logarithmic scale so you can compare size across an unbroken range.

Guides turn parts of that scale into curated essays, while focused views let you explore the same range through specific groups of objects.

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Between the smallest and the largest, perspective is everything.

About

Scale of Space is a scroll-based journey through the universe, placing objects on a single logarithmic scale so you can compare size across an unbroken range.

Guides turn parts of that scale into curated essays, while focused views let you explore the same range through specific groups of objects.

Editorial

Solar System Planets From Electron to Atoms Stars To Scale Birth And Death Of Stars Black Holes To Scale

Views

Planets of the Solar System Stars of the Universe Black holes Subatomic scale

Open Scale of Space

Meteoritic material

Chondrule

A chondrule is a once-molten silicate droplet frozen into a tiny sphere in the early Solar System. These beads formed about 4.5 billion years ago in the solar nebula and were later built into the asteroids that supplied many meteorites.

Scale fact800 µmdiameter

Object class: Chondrule
Composition: Silicate minerals

Meteoritic material

Carbonaceous chondrite

Scale fact6 cmspecimen extent

Object class: Carbonaceous chondrite
Composition: Hydrated silicates, carbon-rich compounds, metal

Meteoritic material

Ordinary chondrite

An ordinary chondrite is the workhorse meteorite of the inner Solar System: stony, chondrule-rich, and easy to underestimate. NASA notes that ordinary chondrites are the most common meteorites found on Earth, so much of what we know from fallen space rocks comes from this class.

Scale fact11 cmspecimen extent

Object class: Ordinary chondrite
Composition: Silicates and iron-nickel metal