Interstellar material in the solar system

Abstract

All the substance of the Earth and other terrestrial planets once existed in the form of interstellar grains and gas. A major aspect of solar system formation (and undoubtedly of star formation generally) is the complex series of processes that converted infalling interstellar grains into planets. A cryptic record of these processes is preserved in certain samples of planetary materials, such as chondritic meteorites, that were preserved in a relatively unchanged form since the beginning. It is to be expected that some of these primitive materials might contain or even consist of preserved presolar interstellar grains. The identification and study of such grains, the ancestors of our planetary system, is a matter of intense interest. Types of primitive material accessible or potentially accessible, and component of or relationship to presolar interstellar grains are discussed.