In carbonaceous meteorites, the impacts produce very hot carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gases (in yellow). Says Kurosawa: "We found that the momentum of the resulting explosion was enough to eject the rocky material that had been subjected to strong shock waves (in red) into space. Such explosions occur in carbonaceous meteorites (left), but not in carbonaceous meteorites (right)." The team therefore concluded that carbonaceous meteorites undergo equally strong shock waves, but the evidence is simply dismissed. Credit: Kosuke Kurosawa

In carbonaceous meteorites, the impacts produce very hot carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gases (in yellow). Says Kurosawa: "We found that the momentum of the resulting explosion was enough to eject the rocky material that had been subjected to strong shock waves (in red) into space. Such explosions occur in carbonaceous meteorites (left), but not in carbonaceous meteorites (right)." The team therefore concluded that carbonaceous meteorites undergo equally strong shock waves, but the evidence is simply dismissed. Credit: Kosuke Kurosawa