Comet Enthusiast

A new family of extraterrestrial particles, probably of cometary origin, has been identified for the first time in Central Antarctica. Discovered by researchers from the Center for Nuclear Spectrometry and Mass Spectrometry (CSNSM), attached to the Institut national de physique nucléaire et de physique des particules, the micrometeorites, which are remarkably well preserved, are made up of organic matter containing small assemblages of minerals from the coldest and most remote regions of the Solar System.

Melting and sieving 106 cubic feet of "ultraclean" snow that fell near a French-Italian Antarctic camp from 1955 to 1970 (before people moved in), the team discovered two micrometeorites measuring no more than .003 inches and .01 inches across, "exhibiting a fine-grained, fluffy texture with no evidence for substantial heating during atmospheric entry."