Remember that Mars meteorite that caused all the fuss last spring because
scientists thought it might show signs of tiny, ancient Martian life? Well,
a piece of that famous rock recently made its way to Brookhaven National
Laboratory, where Physicist George Flynn of SUNY Plattsburgh is helping
to check out those claims. Flynn is shown here taking a preliminary look
at his thumb-size chunk of the meteorite that NASA calls ALH84001. Of course,
the real scientific study is being done not with a magnifying glass, but
with powerful X-rays and infrared light at BNL's National Synchrotron Light
Source facility. By aiming the X-rays or infrared light at pieces of the
meteorite and measuring how it is absorbed by it, Flynn is looking for signs
of the organic molecules that NASA scientists say could show that microscopic
life existed on the red planet millions of years ago. Brookhaven's X-rays,
and equipment built by SUNY Stony Brook, BNL and Northrop Grumman, will
give Flynn 1,000 times better detail than the method used by the NASA scientists.
His research is one project of dozens around the country aimed at examining
this well-known meteorite; all the scientists hope to meet next year to
discuss their findings.
BNL Caption 109 11/3/97
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