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Nature 432, 957-958 (23 December 2004) | doi:10.1038/432957a; Published online 22 December 2004

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Early Solar System: Shock fronts in Hawaii

Alan P. Boss1

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The most vexing question in meteoritics is on the verge of being answered — what process led to the small droplets of primordial dust that are found throughout the most primitive meteorites?

The meteorites and comets that were formed in the solar nebula, the planet-forming disk of gas and dust that became our Solar System, have been largely unaltered over time, and their structure provides clues about the physical and chemical processes that occurred in the nebula. One group of early meteorites, chondritic meteorites, are composed largely of chondrules — millimetre-sized spheroids with well-defined edges resembling "drops of fiery rain"1.

  1. Alan P. Boss is in the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington DC 20015-1305, USA.
    e-mail: Email: boss@dtm.ciw.edu

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