Impact glasses are rich silica melted formed at high temperature and pressure by the impact of an extraterrestrial body on Earth.
Here, Libyan Desert glasses (LDGs) and Darwin glasses (DGs) were studied. Two non-destructive analytical techniques were
used to detect and characterize organic compounds present in their inclusions: Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron
microscopy coupled to energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Phytoliths, humboldtine, palmitic acid, myristic acid,
oleic acid, 4-methyl phthalic acid, and S-H stretching vibrations of amino acids were identified. The presence of these particular
organic compounds in such materials has not been reported so far, providing information about (a) the ancient matter of the area
where the impact glasses were formed, (b) organic matter belonging to the extraterrestrial body which impacted on the Earth, or
(c) even to current plant or bacterial life, which could indicate an active interaction of the LDG and DG with the surrounding
environment. Moreover, the identification of fullerene allowed us to know a pressure (15 GPa) and temperatures (670 K or 1800–
1900 K) at which samples could be subjected.
