Meteorites (IMAGE) Carnegie Institution for Science Caption These tiny particles, from carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, are just a few millionths of a meter wide and have different proportions of nitrogen (N) and hydrogen (H and D) isotopes. These isotopes are chemically bonded to meteoritic organic matter and can reveal a lot about what happened to the meteorite as it made its way through the solar system over billions of years. The two images show the regions with high levels of 15N and heavy hydrogen (deuterium or D)—indications that the associated carbon is very old and originated from interstellar matter or the outer regions of the solar system. Credit Image courtesy Henner Busemann. Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.